title: Recombination-dependent concatemeric plasmid replication.
abstract: The replication of covalently closed circular supercoiled (form I) DNA in prokaryotes is generally controlled at the initiation level by a rate-limiting effector. Once initiated, replication proceeds via one of two possible modes (theta or sigma replication) which do not rely on functions involved in DNA repair and general recombination. Recently, a novel plasmid replication mode, leading to the accumulation of linear multigenome-length plasmid concatemers in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, has been described. Unlike form I DNA replication, an intermediate recombination step is most probably involved in the initiation of concatemeric plasmid DNA replication. On the basis of structural and functional studies, we infer that recombination-dependent plasmid replication shares important features with phage late replication modes and, in several aspects, parallels the synthesis of plasmid concatemers in phage-infected cells. The characterization of the concatemeric plasmid replication mode has allowed new insights into the mechanisms of DNA replication and recombination in prokaryotes.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Genetik, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Viret
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bravo
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics; D004261:DNA Replication; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial