Transcription termination in the plasmid/virus hybrid pSSVx from Sulfolobus islandicus

TY - JOUR

T1 - Transcription termination in the plasmid/virus hybrid pSSVx from Sulfolobus islandicus

AU - Contursi, Patrizia

AU - Cannio, Raffaele

AU - She, Qunxin

PY - 2010/9/1

Y1 - 2010/9/1

N2 - The pSSVx from Sulfolobus islandicus, strain REY15/4, is a hybrid between a plasmid and a fusellovirus. A systematic study previously performed revealed the presence of nine major transcripts, the expression of which was differentially and temporally regulated over the growth cycle of S. islandicus. In this study, two new transcripts were identified. Then, 3' termini of all the RNAs were mapped using adaptor RT-PCR and RNase protection assays, and termination/arrest positions were identified for each transcript. The majority of the identified ending positions were located in the close vicinity of a T-rich sequence and this was consistent with termination signals identifiable for most of archaeal genes. Furthermore, termination also occurred at locations where a T-track sequence was absent but a stem-loop structure could be formed. We propose that an alternative mechanism based on secondary RNA structures and counter-transcripts might be responsible for the transcription termination at these T-track-minus loci in the closely spaced pSSVx genes.

AB - The pSSVx from Sulfolobus islandicus, strain REY15/4, is a hybrid between a plasmid and a fusellovirus. A systematic study previously performed revealed the presence of nine major transcripts, the expression of which was differentially and temporally regulated over the growth cycle of S. islandicus. In this study, two new transcripts were identified. Then, 3' termini of all the RNAs were mapped using adaptor RT-PCR and RNase protection assays, and termination/arrest positions were identified for each transcript. The majority of the identified ending positions were located in the close vicinity of a T-rich sequence and this was consistent with termination signals identifiable for most of archaeal genes. Furthermore, termination also occurred at locations where a T-track sequence was absent but a stem-loop structure could be formed. We propose that an alternative mechanism based on secondary RNA structures and counter-transcripts might be responsible for the transcription termination at these T-track-minus loci in the closely spaced pSSVx genes.

KW - 3' Untranslated Regions

KW - Base Sequence

KW - Fuselloviridae

KW - Gene Expression Regulation, Viral

KW - Nucleic Acid Conformation

KW - Plasmids

KW - RNA, Viral

KW - Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

KW - Ribonuclease T1

KW - Ribonuclease, Pancreatic

KW - Thymine

KW - Transcription, Genetic

U2 - 10.1007/s00792-010-0325-4

DO - 10.1007/s00792-010-0325-4

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 20734095

SN - 1431-0651

VL - 14

SP - 453

EP - 463

JO - Extremophiles

JF - Extremophiles

IS - 5

ER -