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Science 13 October 2000:
Vol. 290. no. 5490, pp. 347 - 350
DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5490.347
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Reports

Selfish DNA in Protein-Coding Genes of Rickettsia

Hiroyuki Ogata,1 Stéphane Audic,1 Valérie Barbe,2 François Artiguenave,2 Pierre-Edouard Fournier,3 Didier Raoult,3 Jean-Michel Claverie1*

Rickettsia conorii, the aetiological agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, is an intracellular bacterium transmitted by ticks. Preliminary analyses of the nearly complete genome sequence of R. conorii have revealed 44 occurrences of a previously undescribed palindromic repeat (150 base pairs long) throughout the genome. Unexpectedly, this repeat was found inserted in-frame within 19 different R. conorii open reading frames likely to encode functional proteins. We found the same repeat in proteins of other Rickettsia species. The finding of a mobile element inserted in many unrelated genes suggests the potential role of selfish DNA in the creation of new protein sequences.

1 Information Génétique & Structurale, CNRS-AVENTIS UMR 1889, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France.
2 Genoscope, Centre National de Séquençage, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000 Evry, France.
3 Unité des Rickettsies, Université de la Méditerranée, Faculté de Médecine, CNRS UPRES A 6020, 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jean-michel.claverie{at}igs.cnrs-mrs.fr

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