Compiling Multicopy Single-Stranded DNA Sequences from Bacterial Genome Sequences

초록

A retron is a bacterial retroelement that encodes an RNA gene and a reverse transcriptase (RT). The former, once transcribed,works as a template primer for reverse transcription by the latter. The resulting DNA is covalently linked to the upstream partof the RNA; this chimera is called multicopy single-stranded DNA (msDNA), which is extrachromosomal DNA found in manybacterial species. Based on the conserved features in the eight known msDNA sequences, we developed a detection methodand applied it to scan National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) RefSeq bacterial genome sequences. Among16,844 bacterial sequences possessing a retron-type RT domain, we identified 48 unique types of msDNA. Currently, thebiological role of msDNA is not well understood. Our work will be a useful tool in studying the distribution, evolution, andphysiological role of msDNA.

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