DNA rearrangement mediated by inverted repeats.
Inverted repeats of DNA are widespread in the genomes of eukaryotes and prokaryotes and can mediate genome rearrangement. We studied rearrangement mediated by plasmid-borne inverted repeats in Escherichia coli. We show that inverted repeats can mediate an efficient and recA-independent recombination event. Surprisingly, the product of this recombination is not that of simple inversion between the inverted repeats, but almost exclusively an unusual head-to-head dimer with complex DNA rearrangement. Moreover, this recombination is dramatically reduced by increasing the distance separating the repeats. These results can be readily explained by a model involving reciprocal switching of the leading and lagging strands of DNA replication within the inverted repeats, which leads to the formation of a Holliday junction. Reciprocal strand switching during DNA replication might be a common mechanism for genome rearrangement associated with inverted duplication.
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Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, NJ 08544, USA.
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D017920:Antiporters / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007446:Chromosome Inversion; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D015321:Gene Rearrangement / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
D017920:Antiporters; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C079051:tetA protein, Bacteria