Efficient recombination between diverged sequences: the role of λ Red protein

Abstract

Bakteriofagi su bakterijski virusi koji nastanjuju i najmanje kutke naše planete. Svrstavanje ovih organizama u skupine zadavalo je muke, a zadaje i danas mnogim znanstvenicima i istraživačima. Temperirani bakteriofagi pokazuju izraziti genomski mozaicizam, i upravo zbog toga ih je nemoguće evolucijski odrediti. U ovome radu pokušalo se odgonetnuti da li Red put homologne rekombinacije između divergentnih sekvenci utječe na genomski mozaicizam temperiranih bakteriofaga, sa naglaskom na fag λ. Znanstvenici su došli do vrlo zanimljivog otkrića: mnogi lambdoidni fagi (temperirani) imaju rekombinaze koje potječu iz iste obitelji rekombinaza kao što je Redβ, a virulentni fagi posjeduju rekombinaze slične bakterijskom proteinu RecA. Virulentni fagi uopće ne pokazuju mozaicizam genoma, što je dodatna potvrda da bi Red sustav bakteriofaga λ mogao imati utjecaj na stvaranje genomskog mozaicizma i na evoluciju temperiranih bakteriofaga.Bacteriophages are bacterial viruses that inhabit even the remotest corners of our planet. The classification of these organisms into groups has always been very difficult and still poses a problem to many scientists and researchers. Temperate bacteriophages show a strong genomic mosaicism, and it is therefore impossible to determine their evolution. This study attempted to decipher whether the fact that Red proteins promote homologous recombination between diverged sequences affects genomic mosaicism of temperate bacteriophages, with emphasis on phage λ. Scientists have come up with a very interesting discovery: many lambdoid phages (temperate) have recombinases originating from the same family as recombinase Redβ, and virulent phages possess recombinases similar to the bacterial protein RecA. Virulent phages do not show mosaicism of their genome, which is further evidence that the bacteriophage λ Red system could have an impact on the creation of genomic mosaicism, and the evolution of temperate bacteriophages