Skip Navigation

Nucleic Acids Research 2004 32(13):3947-3956; doi:10.1093/nar/gkh734
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Print PDF (364K) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (9)
Right arrow Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Posey, K. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gimble, F. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Posey, K. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gimble, F. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published online 27 July 2004

Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 32 No. 13 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Evolution of divergent DNA recognition specificities in VDE homing endonucleases from two yeast species

Karen L. Posey, Vassiliki Koufopanou1, Austin Burt1 and Frederick S. Gimble*

Center for Genome Research, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, 2121 W. Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA and 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 713 677 7605; Fax: +1 713 677 7689; Email: fgimble{at}ibt.tamhsc.edu

Received April 29, 2004; Revised July 2, 2004; Accepted July 12, 2004

Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are mobile DNA elements that are thought to confer no benefit to their host. They encode site-specific DNA endonucleases that perpetuate the element within a species population by homing and disseminate it between species by horizontal transfer. Several yeast species contain the VMA1 HEG that encodes the intein-associated VMA1-derived endonuclease (VDE). The evolutionary state of VDEs from 12 species was assessed by assaying their endonuclease activities. Only two enzymes are active, PI-ZbaI from Zygosaccharomyces bailii and PI-ScaI from Saccharomyces cariocanus. PI-ZbaI cleaves the Z.bailii recognition sequence significantly faster than the Saccharomyces cerevisiae site, which differs at six nucleotide positions. A mutational analysis indicates that PI-ZbaI cleaves the S.cerevisiae substrate poorly due to the absence of a contact that is analogous to one made in PI-SceI between Gln-55 and nucleotides +9/+10. PI-ZbaI cleaves the Z.bailii substrate primarily due to a single base-pair substitution (A/T+5 -> T/A+5). Structural modeling of the PI-ZbaI/DNA complex suggests that Arg-331, which is absent in PI-SceI, contacts T/A+5, and the reduced activity observed in a PI-ZbaI R331A mutant provides evidence for this interaction. These data illustrate that homing endonucleases evolve altered specificity as they adapt to recognize alternative target sites.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
T. Fukuda, K. Ohta, and Y. Ohya
Investigation of the Mechanism of Meiotic DNA Cleavage by VMA1-Derived Endonuclease Uncovers a Meiotic Alteration in Chromatin Structure around the Target Site
Eukaryot. Cell, June 1, 2006; 5(6): 981 - 990.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
A. Bakhrat, K. Baranes, O. Krichevsky, I. Rom, G. Schlenstedt, S. Pietrokovski, and D. Raveh
Nuclear Import of Ho Endonuclease Utilizes Two Nuclear Localization Signals and Four Importins of the Ribosomal Import System
J. Biol. Chem., May 5, 2006; 281(18): 12218 - 12226.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
V. Koufopanou and A. Burt
Degeneration and Domestication of a Selfish Gene in Yeast: Molecular Evolution Versus Site-Directed Mutagenesis
Mol. Biol. Evol., July 1, 2005; 22(7): 1535 - 1538.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.