scholarly journals A Group II Intron-Type Open Reading Frame from the Thermophile Bacillus (Geobacillus) stearothermophilus Encodes a Heat-Stable Reverse Transcriptase

2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 7140-7147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaishree Vellore ◽  
Samuel E. Moretz ◽  
Bert C. Lampson
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcriptase ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Protein Product ◽  
Thermophilic Bacterium ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Open Reading Frame ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Heat Stable ◽  
Heat Stable Protein ◽  
Group Ii

ABSTRACT The production of a stable cDNA copy of an unstable RNA molecule by reverse transcription is a widely used and essential technology for many important applications, such as the construction of gene libraries, production of DNA probes, and analysis of gene expression by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). However, the synthesis of full-length cDNAs is frequently inefficient, because the RT commonly used often produces truncated cDNAs. Synthesizing cDNA at higher temperatures, on the other hand, can provide a number of improvements. These include increasing the length of cDNA product, greater accuracy, and greater specificity during reverse transcription. Thus, an RT that remains stable and active at hot temperatures may produce better-quality cDNAs and improve the yield of full-length cDNAs. Described here is the discovery of a gene, designated trt, from the genome of the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus (Geobacillus) stearothermophilus strain 10. The gene codes for an open reading frame (ORF) similar to the ORFs encoded by group II introns found in bacteria. The gene was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and its protein product was partially purified. Like the host organism, the Trt protein is a heat-stable protein with RT activity and can reverse transcribe RNA at temperatures as high as 75°C.

Analysis of the 5′ Junctions of R2 Insertions With the 28S Gene: Implications for Non-LTR Retrotransposition

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 853-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet A George ◽  
William D Burke ◽  
Thomas H Eickbush
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcriptase ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Reverse Transcriptase Activity ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Template Switching ◽  
28S Rrna ◽  
Junction Sequence ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Reverse Transcriptases

Abstract R2 elements are non-long terminal repeat retrotransposable elements that insert into 28S rRNA genes of most insect species. The single open reading frame of R2 encodes a protein with both endonuclease activity, which cleaves the target site, and reverse transcriptase activity, which uses this cleavage to prime reverse transcription. This target-primed reverse transcription mechanism is also used by group II introns. Little is known of the mechanism by which the 5′ end of R2 is integrated after reverse transcription. We have determined the 5′ junction sequence of 94 R2 elements from 14 different species of Drosophila. Only 37% of the full-length elements contained precise 5′ junctions; the remainder contained deletions of the 28S gene and/or insertions of additional sequences. Because the 5′ junctions of truncated copies were similar to full-length elements, no sequences at the 5′ end of R2 appear to be required for element integration. A model in which the R2 reverse transcriptase is capable of switching templates from the R2 RNA transcript to the upstream 28S gene can best explain the observed 5′ junction sequences. This template jumping is analogous to the template switching of retroviral reverse transcriptases during formation of the double-stranded integration products.

The Mauriceville plasmid of Neurospora crassa: characterization of a novel reverse transcriptase that begins cDNA synthesis at the 3' end of template RNA

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 5131-5144
Author(s):  
H Wang ◽  
J C Kennell ◽  
M T Kuiper ◽  
J R Sabourin ◽  
R Saldanha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcriptase ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Minus Strand ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Particle ◽  
Cdna Synthesis ◽  
Reverse Transcriptases ◽  
In Vitro Transcripts

The Mauriceville and Varkud plasmids are retroid elements that propagate in the mitochondria of some Neurospora spp. strains. Previous studies of endogenous reactions in ribonucleoprotein particle preparations suggested that the plasmids use a novel mechanism of reverse transcription that involves synthesis of a full-length minus-strand DNA beginning at the 3' end of the plasmid transcript, which has a 3' tRNA-like structure (M. T. R. Kuiper and A. M. Lambowitz, Cell 55:693-704, 1988). In this study, we developed procedures for releasing the Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase from mitochondrial ribonucleoprotein particles and partially purifying it by heparin-Sepharose chromatography. By using these soluble preparations, we show directly that the Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase synthesizes full-length cDNA copies of in vitro transcripts beginning at the 3' end and has a preference for transcripts having the 3' tRNA-like structure. Further, unlike retroviral reverse transcriptases, the Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase begins cDNA synthesis directly opposite the 3'-terminal nucleotide of the template RNA. The ability to initiate cDNA synthesis directly at the 3' end of template RNAs may also be relevant to the mechanisms of reverse transcription used by LINEs, group II introns, and other non-long terminal repeat retroid elements.

scholarly journals Cloning, Nucleotide Sequence, and Expression of the Gene Encoding the Bacteriocin Boticin B from Clostridium botulinum Strain 213B

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 5480-5483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean S. Dineen ◽  
Marite Bradshaw ◽  
Eric A. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Clostridium Botulinum ◽  
Shuttle Vector ◽  
Open Reading Frame ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Heat Stable ◽  
Group I

ABSTRACT Boticin B is a heat-stable bacteriocin produced byClostridium botulinum strain 213B that has inhibitory activity against various strains of C. botulinum and related clostridia. The gene encoding the bacteriocin was localized to a 3.0-kb HindIII fragment of an 18.8-kb plasmid, cloned, and sequenced. DNA sequencing revealed the boticin B structural gene,btcB, to be an open reading frame encoding 50 amino acids. A C. botulinum strain 62A transconjugant containing theHindIII fragment inserted into a clostridial shuttle vector expressed boticin B, although at much lower levels than those observed in C. botulinum 213B. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration and characterization of a bacteriocin from toxigenic group I C. botulinum.

scholarly journals The Mauriceville plasmid of Neurospora crassa: characterization of a novel reverse transcriptase that begins cDNA synthesis at the 3' end of template RNA.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 5131-5144 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Wang ◽  
J C Kennell ◽  
M T Kuiper ◽  
J R Sabourin ◽  
R Saldanha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcriptase ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Minus Strand ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Particle ◽  
Cdna Synthesis ◽  
Reverse Transcriptases ◽  
In Vitro Transcripts

The Mauriceville and Varkud plasmids are retroid elements that propagate in the mitochondria of some Neurospora spp. strains. Previous studies of endogenous reactions in ribonucleoprotein particle preparations suggested that the plasmids use a novel mechanism of reverse transcription that involves synthesis of a full-length minus-strand DNA beginning at the 3' end of the plasmid transcript, which has a 3' tRNA-like structure (M. T. R. Kuiper and A. M. Lambowitz, Cell 55:693-704, 1988). In this study, we developed procedures for releasing the Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase from mitochondrial ribonucleoprotein particles and partially purifying it by heparin-Sepharose chromatography. By using these soluble preparations, we show directly that the Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase synthesizes full-length cDNA copies of in vitro transcripts beginning at the 3' end and has a preference for transcripts having the 3' tRNA-like structure. Further, unlike retroviral reverse transcriptases, the Mauriceville plasmid reverse transcriptase begins cDNA synthesis directly opposite the 3'-terminal nucleotide of the template RNA. The ability to initiate cDNA synthesis directly at the 3' end of template RNAs may also be relevant to the mechanisms of reverse transcription used by LINEs, group II introns, and other non-long terminal repeat retroid elements.

scholarly journals Efficient Homologous RNA Recombination and Requirement for an Open Reading Frame during Replication of Equine Arteritis Virus Defective Interfering RNAs

2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (19) ◽  
pp. 9062-9070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Molenkamp ◽  
Sophie Greve ◽  
Willy J. M. Spaan ◽  
Eric J. Snijder
Keyword(s):  
Rna Virus ◽  
Rna Replication ◽  
Proximal Region ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Equine Arteritis Virus ◽  
Open Reading Frame ◽  
Replicase Gene ◽  
Rna Recombination ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
A Genome

ABSTRACT Equine arteritis virus (EAV), the prototype arterivirus, is an enveloped plus-strand RNA virus with a genome of approximately 13 kb. Based on similarities in genome organization and protein expression, the arteriviruses have recently been grouped together with the coronaviruses and toroviruses in the newly established order Nidovirales. Previously, we reported the construction of pEDI, a full-length cDNA copy of EAV DI-b, a natural defective interfering (DI) RNA of 5.6 kb (R. Molenkamp et al., J. Virol. 74:3156–3165, 2000). EDI RNA consists of three noncontiguous parts of the EAV genome fused in frame with respect to the replicase gene. As a result, EDI RNA contains a truncated replicase open reading frame (EDI-ORF) and encodes a truncated replicase polyprotein. Since some coronavirus DI RNAs require the presence of an ORF for their efficient propagation, we have analyzed the importance of the EDI-ORF in EDI RNA replication. The EDI-ORF was disrupted at different positions by the introduction of frameshift mutations. These were found either to block DI RNA replication completely or to be removed within one virus passage, probably due to homologous recombination with the helper virus genome. Using recombination assays based on EDI RNA and full-length EAV genomes containing specific mutations, the rates of homologous RNA recombination in the 3′- and 5′-proximal regions of the EAV genome were studied. Remarkably, the recombination frequency in the 5′-proximal region was found to be approximately 100-fold lower than that in the 3′-proximal part of the genome.

scholarly journals Identification of an Active Reverse Transcriptase Enzyme Encoded by a Human Endogenous HERV-K Retrovirus

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 2365-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Berkhout ◽  
Maarten Jebbink ◽  
Jozsef Zsíros
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Transcriptase ◽  
Human Genome ◽  
Genetic Recombination ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Rnase H ◽  
Open Reading Frame ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Virus Family ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Reverse Transcriptase Enzyme

ABSTRACT Of the numerous endogenous retroviral elements that are present in the human genome, the abundant HERV-K family is distinct because several members are transcriptionally active and coding for biologically active proteins. A detailed phylogeny of the HERV-K family based on the partial sequence of the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene revealed a high incidence of an intact RT open reading frame within the HML-2 subgroup of HERV-K elements. In this study, we report the cloning of six full-length HML-2 RT genes, of which five contain an uninterrupted open reading frame. The RT enzymes were expressed as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins inEscherichia coli, and several HERV-K RT enzymes demonstrated polymerase as well as RNase H activity. Several biochemical properties of the RT polymerase were analyzed, including the template requirements and optimal reaction conditions (temperature, type of divalent cation). Inspection of the nucleotide sequence of the HERV-K RT genes demonstrated a mosaic structure, suggesting that a high level of genetic recombination has occurred in this virus family, which is a hallmark of replication by means of reverse transcription. The selective pressure to maintain the RT coding potential is illustrated by the sequence of a particular HERV-K isolate that contains three 1-nucleotide deletions within a small RT segment, thus maintaining the open reading frame. These combined results may suggest that these endogenous RT enzymes still have a biological function. It is possible that the RT activity was involved in the spread of this major class of retroelements by retrotransposition, and in fact it cannot be excluded that this retrovirus group is still mobile. The endogenous RT activity may also have been involved in the shaping of the human genome, e.g., by formation of pseudogenes.

scholarly journals The Major Open Reading Frame of the β2.7 Transcript of Human Cytomegalovirus: In Vitro Expression of a Protein Posttranscriptionally Regulated by the 5′ Region

1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 8425-8429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Bergamini ◽  
Marko Reschke ◽  
Maria Concetta Battista ◽  
Maria Cristina Boccuni ◽  
Fabio Campanini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Cytomegalovirus Infection ◽  
Intracellular Localization ◽  
Protein Product ◽  
Transient Transfection ◽  
Open Reading Frame ◽  
Major Open Reading Frame ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus Infection

ABSTRACT β2.7 is the major early transcript produced during human cytomegalovirus infection. This abundantly expressed RNA is polysome associated, but no protein product has ever been detected. In this study, a stable peptide of 24 kDa was produced in vitro from the major open reading frame (ORF), TRL4. Following transient transfection, the intracellular localization was nucleolar and the expression was posttranscriptionally inhibited by the 5′ sequence of the transcript, which harbors two short upstream ORFs.

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