Evolution and function of the neisserial dam-replacing gene.

G Cantalupo; C Bucci; P Salvatore; C Pagliarulo; V Roberti; A Lavitola; C B Bruni; P Alifano

doi:10.1016/s0014-5793(01)02388-2

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Evolution and function of the neisserial dam-replacing gene.

G Cantalupo·C Bucci·P Salvatore·C Pagliarulo·V Roberti·A Lavitola·C B Bruni·P Alifano

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Abstract

Phase variation through slippage-like mechanisms involving homopolymeric tracts depends in part on the absence of Dam-methylase in several pathogenic isolates of Neisseria meningitidis. In Dam-defective strains drg (dam-replacing gene), flanked by pseudo-transposable small repeated elements (SREs), replaced dam. We demonstrate that drg encodes a restriction endonuclease (NmeBII) that cleaves 5'-GmeATC-3'. drg is also present in 50% of Neisseria lactamica strains, but in most of them it is inactive because of the absence of an SRE-providing promoter. This is associated with the presence of GATmeC, suggesting an alternative restriction-modification system (RM) specific for 5'-GATC-3', similar to Sau3AI-RM of Staphylococcus aureus 3A, Lactococcus lactis KR2 and Listeria monocytogenes.

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Bacterial Proteins Base Sequence Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific Evolution, Molecular Genes, Bacterial Molecular Sequence Data Neisseria meningitidis RNA, Messenger Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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G Cantalupo, C Bucci, P Salvatore, C Pagliarulo, V Roberti, A Lavitola, C B Bruni, P Alifano. 2001-04-27. Evolution and function of the neisserial dam-replacing gene.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0014-5793(01)02388-2

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