scholarly journals Chloroplast Genomes of the Green-Tide Forming Alga Ulva compressa: Comparative Chloroplast Genomics in the Genus Ulva (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta)

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Liu ◽  
James T. Melton

To understand the evolution of Ulva chloroplast genomes at intraspecific and interspecific levels, in this study, three complete chloroplast genomes of Ulva compressa Linnaeus were sequenced and compared with the available Ulva cpDNA data. Our comparative analyses unveiled many noticeable findings. First, genome size variations of Ulva cpDNAs at intraspecific and interspecific levels were mainly caused by differences in gain or loss of group I/II introns, integration of foreign DNA fragments, and content of non-coding intergenic spacer regions. Second, chloroplast genomes of U. compressa shared the same 100 conserved genes as other Ulva cpDNA, whereas Ulva flexuosa appears to be the only Ulva species with the minD gene retained in its cpDNA. Third, five types of group I introns, most of which carry a LAGLIDADG or GIY-YIG homing endonuclease, and three of group II introns, usually encoding a reverse transcriptase/maturase, were detected at 26 insertion sites of 14 host genes in the 23 Ulva chloroplast genomes, and many intron insertion-sites have been found for the first time in Chlorophyta. Fourth, one degenerate group II intron previously ignored has been detected in the infA genes of all Ulva species, but not in the closest neighbor, Pseudoneochloris marina, and the other chlorophycean taxa, indicating that it should be the result of an independent invasion event that occurred in a common ancestor of Ulva species. Finally, the seven U. compressa cpDNAs represented a novel gene order which was different from that of other Ulva cpDNAs. The structure of Ulva chloroplast genomes is not conserved, but remarkably plastic, due to multiple rearrangement events.

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2001
Author(s):  
Jigeesha Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Georg Hausner

Introns are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes and have long been considered as ‘junk RNA’ but the huge energy expenditure in their transcription, removal, and degradation indicate that they may have functional significance and can offer evolutionary advantages. In fungi, plants and algae introns make a significant contribution to the size of the organellar genomes. Organellar introns are classified as catalytic self-splicing introns that can be categorized as either Group I or Group II introns. There are some biases, with Group I introns being more frequently encountered in fungal mitochondrial genomes, whereas among plants Group II introns dominate within the mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes. Organellar introns can encode a variety of proteins, such as maturases, homing endonucleases, reverse transcriptases, and, in some cases, ribosomal proteins, along with other novel open reading frames. Although organellar introns are viewed to be ribozymes, they do interact with various intron- or nuclear genome-encoded protein factors that assist in the intron RNA to fold into competent splicing structures, or facilitate the turn-over of intron RNAs to prevent reverse splicing. Organellar introns are also known to be involved in non-canonical splicing, such as backsplicing and trans-splicing which can result in novel splicing products or, in some instances, compensate for the fragmentation of genes by recombination events. In organellar genomes, Group I and II introns may exist in nested intronic arrangements, such as introns within introns, referred to as twintrons, where splicing of the external intron may be dependent on splicing of the internal intron. These nested or complex introns, with two or three-component intron modules, are being explored as platforms for alternative splicing and their possible function as molecular switches for modulating gene expression which could be potentially applied towards heterologous gene expression. This review explores recent findings on organellar Group I and II introns, focusing on splicing and mobility mechanisms aided by associated intron/nuclear encoded proteins and their potential roles in organellar gene expression and cross talk between nuclear and organellar genomes. Potential application for these types of elements in biotechnology are also discussed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0245714
Author(s):  
Li-hong Chen ◽  
Wei Yan ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Jian Liu ◽  
...  

The small (18S) and large (28S) nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) introns have been researched and sequenced in a variety of ectomycorrhizal fungal taxa in this study, it is found that both 18S and 28S rDNA would contain introns and display some degree variation in size, nucleotide sequences and insertion positions within the same fungi species (Meliniomyces). Under investigations among the tested isolates, 18S rDNA has four sites for intron insertions, 28S rDNA has two sites for intron insertions. Both 18S and 28S rDNA introns among the tested isolates belong to group I introns with a set of secondary structure elements designated P1-P10 helics and loops. We found a 12 nt nucleotide sequences TACCACAGGGAT at site 2 in the 3’-end of 28S rDNA, site 2 introns just insert the upstream or the downstream of the12 nt nucleotide sequences. Afters sequence analysis of all 18S and 28S rDNA introns from tested isolates, three high conserved regions around 30 nt nucleotides (conserved 1, conserved 2, conserved 3) and identical nucleotides can be found. Conserved 1, conserved 2 and conserved 3 regions have high GC content, GC percentage is almost more than 60%. From our results, it seems that the more convenient host sites, intron sequences and secondary structures, or isolates for 18S and 28S rDNA intron insertion and deletion, the more popular they are. No matter 18S rDNA introns or 18S rDNA introns among tested isolates, complementary base pairing at the splicing sites in P1-IGS-P10 tertiary helix around 5’-end introns and exons were weak.


2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peik Haugen ◽  
Valérie Reeb ◽  
François Lutzoni ◽  
Debashish Bhattacharya

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (14) ◽  
pp. 5293-5301 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Nord ◽  
Eduard Torrents ◽  
Britt-Marie Sjöberg

ABSTRACT The essential Bacillus anthracis nrdE gene carries a self-splicing group I intron with a putative homing endonuclease belonging to the GIY-YIG family. Here, we show that the nrdE pre-mRNA is spliced and that the homing endonuclease cleaves an intronless nrdE gene 5 nucleotides (nt) upstream of the intron insertion site, producing 2-nt 3′ extensions. We also show that the sequence required for efficient cleavage spans at least 4 bp upstream and 31 bp downstream of the cleaved coding strand. The position of the recognition sequence in relation to the cleavage position is as expected for a GIY-YIG homing endonuclease. Interestingly, nrdE genes from several other Bacillaceae were also susceptible to cleavage, with those of Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus epidermidis (nrdE1), B. anthracis, and Bacillus thuringiensis serovar konkukian being better substrates than those of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus lichenformis, and S. epidermidis (nrdE2). On the other hand, nrdE genes from Lactococcus lactis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Corynebacterium ammoniagenes were not cleaved. Intervening sequences (IVSs) residing in protein-coding genes are often found in enzymes involved in DNA metabolism, and the ribonucleotide reductase nrdE gene is a frequent target for self-splicing IVSs. A comparison of nrdE genes from seven gram-positive low-G+C bacteria, two bacteriophages, and Nocardia farcinica showed five different insertion sites for self-splicing IVSs within the coding region of the nrdE gene.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 7531-7539 ◽  
Author(s):  
E L Ellison ◽  
V M Vogt

Endonucleases encoded by mobile group I introns are highly specific DNases that induce a double-strand break near the site to which the intron moves. I-PpoI from the acellular slime mold Physarum polycephalum mediates the mobility of intron 3 (Pp LSU 3) in the extrachromosomal nuclear ribosomal DNA of this organism. We showed previously that cleavage by I-PpoI creates a four-base staggered cut near the point of intron insertion. We have now characterized several further properties of the endonuclease. As determined by deletion analysis, the minimal target site recognized by I-PopI was a sequence of 13 to 15 bp spanning the cleavage site. The purified protein behaved as a globular dimer in sedimentation and gel filtration. In gel mobility shift assays in the presence of EDTA, I-PpoI formed a stable and specific complex with DNA, dissociating with a half-life of 45 min. By footprinting and interference assays with methidiumpropyl-EDTA-iron(II), I-PpoI contacted a 22- to 24-bp stretch of DNA. The endonuclease protected most of the purines found in both the major and minor grooves of the DNA helix from modification by dimethyl sulfate (DMS). However, the reactivity to DMS was enhanced at some purines, suggesting that binding leads to a conformational change in the DNA. The pattern of DMS protection differed fundamentally in the two partially symmetrical halves of the recognition sequence.


RNA ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1373-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
NAVTEJ TOOR ◽  
STEVEN ZIMMERLY

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