title: Retron reverse transcriptase rrtT is ubiquitous in strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.
abstract: Bacterial retron reverse transcriptases are unusual enzymes which utilise the same RNA molecule as a template and also as a primer for initiation of the reverse transcription. Except for their relatively frequent presence in Myxococcus spp., they are considered as quite rare proteins. However, in this study we proved that retron reverse transcriptase is frequently found in certain serovars of Salmonella enterica. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in strains of serovar Typhimurium, the rrtT (retron reverse transcriptase Typhimurium) gene was detected in 158 out of 175 tested field strains. On the other hand, in none of the 18 tested serovar Enteritidis strains the rrtT was detected in their genome. Detailed computer analysis allowed us to predict the sequence of msDNA and to propose that the final msDNA is free of any RNA. Furthermore, we predict that there are at least three different classes of retron reverse transcriptases.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 32 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jitka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matiasovicova
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faldynova
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pravcova
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karpiskova
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kolackova
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Damborsky
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rychlik
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009876:Operon; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase