scholarly journals Processing of RNAs of the Family Avsunviroidae in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Chloroplasts

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 4363-4366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Molina-Serrano ◽  
Loreto Suay ◽  
María L. Salvador ◽  
Ricardo Flores ◽  
José-Antonio Daròs

ABSTRACT The family Avsunviroidae comprises four viroid species with the ability to form hammerhead ribozymes that mediate self-cleavage of the multimeric plus and minus strands resulting from replication in the chloroplast through a symmetric rolling-circle mechanism. Research on these RNAs is restricted by their host range, which is limited to the plants wherein they were initially identified and some closely related species. Here we report cleavage and ligation in transplastomic Chlamydomonas reinhardtii expressing plus- and minus-strand dimeric transcripts of representative members of the family Avsunviroidae. Despite the absence of viroid RNA-RNA transcription, the C. reinhardtii-based system can be used to address intriguing questions about viroid RNA processing and, in particular, about the cellular factors involved in cleavage and ligation.

Author(s):  
Francesco Di Serio ◽  
Robert A. Owens ◽  
Shi-Fang Li ◽  
Jaroslav Matoušek ◽  
Vicente Pallás ◽  
...  

Members of the family Pospiviroidae have single-stranded circular RNA genomes that adopt a rod-like or a quasi-rod-like conformation. These genomes contain a central conserved region that is involved in replication in the nucleus through an asymmetric RNA–RNA rolling-circle mechanism. Members of the family Pospiviroidae lack the hammerhead ribozymes that are typical of viroids classified in the family Avsunviroidae. The family Pospiviroidae includes the genera Apscaviroid, Cocadviroid, Coleviroid, Hostuviroid and Pospiviroid, with >25 species. This is a summary of the ICTV Report on the family Pospiviroidae, which is available at ictv.global/report/pospiviroidae.


1999 ◽  
Vol 380 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 849-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Flores ◽  
J.-A. Navarro ◽  
M. de la Peña ◽  
B. Navarro ◽  
S. Ambrós ◽  
...  

AbstractViroids, subviral pathogens of plants, are composed of a single-stranded circular RNA of 246–399 nucleotides. Within the 27 viroids sequenced, avocado sunblotch, peach latent mosaic and chrysanthemum chlorotic mottle viroids (ASBVd, PLMVd and CChMVd, respectively) can form hammerhead structures in both of their polarity strands. These ribozymes mediate self-cleavage of the oligomeric RNAs generated in the replication through a rolling circle mechanism, whose two other steps are catalyzed by an RNA polymerase and an RNA ligase. ASBVd, and presumably PLMVd and CChMVd, replicate and accumulate in the chloroplast, whereas typical viroids replicate and accumulate in the nucleus. PLMVd and CChMVd do not adopt a rod-like or quasi rod-like secondary structure as typical viroids do but have a highly branched conformation. A pathogenicity determinant has been mapped in a defined region of the CChMVd molecule.


2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petar Knezevic ◽  
Evelien M. Adriaenssens ◽  

Members of the family Inoviridae are non-enveloped flexible filamentous bacteriophages (600–2500×6–10 nm) with supercoiled, circular, positive-sense, single-stranded DNA genomes of 5.5–10.6 kb, encoding 7–15 proteins. They absorb to the pili of Gram-negative bacteria and replicate their DNA by a rolling-circle mechanism with progeny released from cells by extrusion without killing the host. Phage DNA can persist extra-chromosomally or integrate into the bacterial genome. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the family Inoviridae, which is available at ictv.global/report/inoviridae.


2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petar Knezevic ◽  
Evelien M. Adriaenssens ◽  

Members of the family Plectroviridae produce particles that are non-enveloped rigid rods (70–280×10–16 nm). The supercoiled, circular, single-stranded DNA genome of about 4.5–8.3 kb, encodes 4–13 proteins. Viruses of this family infect cell wall-less bacteria, adsorbing to the bacterial surface, replicating their DNA by a rolling-circle mechanism or transposition, and releasing progeny from cells by extrusion, without killing the host. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on the family Plectroviridae which is available at ictv.global/report/plectroviridae.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (20) ◽  
pp. 10321-10325 ◽  
Author(s):  
María-Eugenia Gas ◽  
Diego Molina-Serrano ◽  
Carmen Hernández ◽  
Ricardo Flores ◽  
José-Antonio Daròs

ABSTRACT Members of the family Pospiviroidae, like Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd), replicate through an RNA-based asymmetric rolling-circle mechanism in which oligomeric plus-strand [(+)] RNA intermediates are cleaved to monomeric linear (ml) RNA and then circularized. Here we show, by rapid amplification of 5′ and 3′ cDNA ends and in vitro ligation assays, that ml CEVd (+) RNA resulting from cleavage of a dimeric transcript transgenically expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana contains 5′-phosphomonoester and 3′-hydroxyl termini. The nature of these termini and the double-stranded structure previously proposed as the substrate for cleavage in vivo suggest that a type III RNase catalyzes cleavage and an RNA ligase distinct from tRNA ligase promotes circularization.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Côté ◽  
Dominique Lévesque ◽  
Jean-Pierre Perreault

ABSTRACT Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) is a circular RNA pathogen that replicates in a DNA-independent fashion via a rolling circle mechanism. PLMVd has been shown to self-ligate in vitro primarily via the formation of 2′,5′-phosphodiester bonds; however, in vivo the occurrence and necessity of this nonenzymatic mechanism are not evident. Here, we unequivocally report the presence of 2′,5′-phosphodiester bonds at the ligation site of circular PLMVd strands isolated from infected peach leaves. These bonds serve to close the linear conformers (i.e., intermediates), yielding circular ones. Furthermore, these bonds are shown to stabilize the replicational circular templates, resulting in a significant advantage in terms of viroid viability. Although the mechanism responsible for the formation of these 2′,5′-phosphodiester bonds remains to be elucidated, a hypothesis describing in vivo nonenzymatic self-ligation is proposed. Most significantly, our results clearly show that 2′,5′-phosphodiester bonds are still present in nature and that they are of biological importance.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse D. Ronquillo ◽  
Toshio Saisho

Gravid females of Metapenaeopsis barbata spawned in the laboratory by natural means and the larvae were reared from hatching to postlarval stage at 27·0–29·8˚C and 33·5–34·5 g kg -1 salinity. The larvae metamorphosed into first postlarvae, with a survival rate of up to 98·4%, after about 10 days following hatching and subsistence on only an algal diet of Tetraselmis tetrathele and Chaetoceros gracilis. Six naupliar stages, three protozoeal stages, three mysis stages and the first postlarval stage are described and illustrated. On the basis of morphological characteristics, larval stages of M. barbata can be distinguished from similar stages of closely related species in the family Penaeidae. As inferred from the morphology of the larval feeding apparatus, M. barbata is still a filter-feeder even at the first postlarval stage.


Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel García-Souto ◽  
Sandra Alonso-Rubido ◽  
Diana Costa ◽  
José Eirín-López ◽  
Emilio Rolán-Álvarez ◽  
...  

Periwinkles of the family Littorinidae (Children, 1834) are common members of seashore littoral communities worldwide. Although the family is composed of more than 200 species belonging to 18 genera, chromosome numbers have been described in only eleven of them. A molecular cytogenetic analysis of nine periwinkle species, the rough periwinkles Littorina arcana, L. saxatilis, and L. compressa, the flat periwinkles L. obtusata and L. fabalis, the common periwinkle L. littorea, the mangrove periwinkle Littoraria angulifera, the beaded periwinkle Cenchritis muricatus, and the small periwinkle Melarhaphe neritoides was performed. All species showed diploid chromosome numbers of 2n = 34, and karyotypes were mostly composed of metacentric and submetacentric chromosome pairs. None of the periwinkle species showed chromosomal differences between male and female specimens. The chromosomal mapping of major and minor rDNA and H3 histone gene clusters by fluorescent in situ hybridization demonstrated that the patterns of distribution of these DNA sequences were conserved among closely related species and differed among less related ones. All signals occupied separated loci on different chromosome pairs without any evidence of co-localization in any of the species.


2004 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Góra-Sochacka

Viroids are small (about 300 nucleotides), single-stranded, circular, non-encapsidated pathogenic RNA molecules. They do not code for proteins and thus depend on plant host enzymes for their replication and other functions. They induce plant diseases by direct interaction with host factors but the mechanism of pathogenicity is still unknown. They can alter the expression of selected plant genes important for growth and development. Viroids belong to two families, the Avsunviroidae and the Pospiviroidae. Viroids of the Avsunviroidae family adopt a branched or quasi rod-like secondary structure in their native state. Members of the Pospiviroidae family adopt a rod-like secondary structure. In such native structures five structural/functional domains have been identified: central (C), pathogenicity, variable and two terminal domains. The central conserved region (CCR) within the C domain characterizes viroids of the Pospiviroidae. Specific secondary structures of this region play an important role in viroid replication and processing. Viroids of the Avsunviroidae family lack a CCR but possess self-cleaving properties by forming hammerhead ribozyme structures; they accumulate and replicate in chloroplasts, whereas members of the Pospiviroidae family have a nuclear localization. Viroid replication occurs via a rolling circle mechanism using either a symmetric or asymmetric pathway in three steps, RNA transcription, processing and ligation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (24) ◽  
pp. 3355-3366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurel D. Wright ◽  
Alan D. Grossman

ABSTRACTIntegrative and conjugative elements (ICEs), also known as conjugative transposons, are self-transferable elements that are widely distributed among bacterial phyla and are important drivers of horizontal gene transfer. Many ICEs carry genes that confer antibiotic resistances to their host cells and are involved in the dissemination of these resistance genes. ICEs reside in host chromosomes but under certain conditions can excise to form a plasmid that is typically the substrate for transfer. A few ICEs are known to undergo autonomous replication following activation. However, it is not clear if autonomous replication is a general property of many ICEs. We found that Tn916, the first conjugative transposon identified, replicates autonomously via a rolling-circle mechanism. Replication of Tn916was dependent on the relaxase encoded byorf20of Tn916. The origin of transfer of Tn916,oriT(916), also functioned as an origin of replication. Using immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, we found that the relaxase (Orf20) and the two putative helicase processivity factors (Orf22 and Orf23) encoded by Tn916likely interact in a complex and that the Tn916relaxase contains a previously unidentified conserved helix-turn-helix domain in its N-terminal region that is required for relaxase function and replication. Lastly, we identified a functional single-strand origin of replication (sso) in Tn916that we predict primes second-strand synthesis during rolling-circle replication. Together these results add to the emerging data that show that several ICEs replicate via a conserved, rolling-circle mechanism.IMPORTANCEIntegrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) drive horizontal gene transfer and the spread of antibiotic resistances in bacteria. ICEs reside integrated in a host genome but can excise to create a plasmid that is the substrate for transfer to other cells. Here we show that Tn916, an ICE with broad host range, undergoes autonomous rolling-circle replication when in the plasmid form. We found that the origin of transfer functions as a double-stranded origin of replication and identified a single-stranded origin of replication. It was long thought that ICEs do not undergo autonomous replication. Our work adds to the evidence that ICEs replicate autonomously as part of their normal life cycle and indicates that diverse ICEs use the same replicative mechanism.


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