title: A cryptic miniplasmid from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga sp. strain RQ7.
abstract: An 846-bp cryptic plasmid has been discovered in the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga sp. strain RQ7. This is the first plasmid described for an organism from this ancient bacterial lineage and the smallest plasmid described to date for any organism. Nucleotide sequencing revealed a single open reading frame possibly encoding a 25,460-Da basic protein (212 amino acids). Upstream of the putative promoter lie five 11-bp direct repeats, each separated by 1 to 4 bp, while between the promoter and the open reading frame lies an 11-bp palindromic sequence. Its mode of replication is unknown, but its sequence bears similarities to those of plasmids which replicate by a rolling-circle mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06269.
authors.forename: O T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Harriott
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: K O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Stetter
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Betts
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Noll
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004261:DNA Replication; D006089:Gram-Negative Anaerobic Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D016364:Reading Frames; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D017421:Sequence Analysis