dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaMimivirus Gene Promoters Exhibit an Unprecedented Conservation among all Eukaryotes
| Authors | Karsten Suhre, Stéphane Audic, Jean-Michel Claverie |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0504012 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0504012 |
| DOI | 10.1073/pnas.0506465102 |
Abstract
The initial analysis of the recently sequenced genome of Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus, the largest known double-stranded DNA virus, predicted a proteome of size and complexity more akin to small parasitic bacteria than to other nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses, and identified numerous functions never before described in a virus. It has been proposed that the Mimivirus lineage could have emerged before the individualization of cellular organisms from the 3 domains of life. An exhaustive in silico analysis of the non-coding moiety of all known viral genomes, now uncovers the unprecedented perfect conservation of a AAAATTGA motif in close to 50% of the Mimivirus genes. This motif preferentially occurs in genes transcribed from the predicted leading strand and is associated with functions required early in the viral infectious cycle, such as transcription and protein translation. A comparison with the known promoter of unicellular eukaryotes, in particular amoebal protists, strongly suggests that the AAAATTGA motif is the structural equivalent of the TATA box core promoter element. This element is specific to the Mimivirus lineage, and may correspond to an ancestral promoter structure predating the radiation of the eukaryotic kingdoms. This unprecedented conservation of core promoter regions is another exceptional features of Mimivirus, that again raises the question of its evolutionary origin.
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"abstract": "The initial analysis of the recently sequenced genome of Acanthamoeba\npolyphaga Mimivirus, the largest known double-stranded DNA virus, predicted a\nproteome of size and complexity more akin to small parasitic bacteria than to\nother nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses, and identified numerous functions\nnever before described in a virus. It has been proposed that the Mimivirus\nlineage could have emerged before the individualization of cellular organisms\nfrom the 3 domains of life. An exhaustive in silico analysis of the non-coding\nmoiety of all known viral genomes, now uncovers the unprecedented perfect\nconservation of a AAAATTGA motif in close to 50% of the Mimivirus genes. This\nmotif preferentially occurs in genes transcribed from the predicted leading\nstrand and is associated with functions required early in the viral infectious\ncycle, such as transcription and protein translation. A comparison with the\nknown promoter of unicellular eukaryotes, in particular amoebal protists,\nstrongly suggests that the AAAATTGA motif is the structural equivalent of the\nTATA box core promoter element. This element is specific to the Mimivirus\nlineage, and may correspond to an ancestral promoter structure predating the\nradiation of the eukaryotic kingdoms. This unprecedented conservation of core\npromoter regions is another exceptional features of Mimivirus, that again\nraises the question of its evolutionary origin.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0504012",
"authors": [
"Karsten Suhre",
"St\u00e9phane Audic",
"Jean-Michel Claverie"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.GN"
],
"doi": "10.1073/pnas.0506465102",
"title": "Mimivirus Gene Promoters Exhibit an Unprecedented Conservation among all Eukaryotes",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0504012"
},
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