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Journal of Bacteriology, July 2004, p. 4307-4314, Vol. 186, No. 13
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.13.4307-4314.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Group I Intron Homing in Bacillus Phages SPO1 and SP82: a Gene Conversion Event Initiated by a Nicking Homing Endonuclease

Markus Landthaler, Nelson C. Lau, and David. A. Shub^*

Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Molecular Genetics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York 12222

Received 16 December 2003/ Accepted 24 March 2004

Many group I introns encode endonucleases that promote intron homing by initiating a double-stranded break-mediated homologous recombination event. In this work we describe intron homing in Bacillus subtilis phages SPO1 and SP82. The introns encode the DNA endonucleases I-HmuI and I-HmuII, respectively, which belong to the H-N-H endonuclease family and possess nicking activity in vitro. Coinfections of B. subtilis with intron-minus and intron-plus phages indicate that I-HmuI and I-HmuII are required for homing of the SPO1 and SP82 introns, respectively. The homing process is a gene conversion event that does not require the major B. subtilis recombination pathways, suggesting that the necessary functions are provided by phage-encoded factors. Our results provide the first examples of H-N-H endonuclease-mediated intron homing and the first demonstration of intron homing initiated by a nicking endonuclease.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Molecular Genetics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222. Phone: (518) 442-4324. Fax: (518) 442-4767. E-mail: shub{at}albany.edu.

Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021.

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142.

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Journal of Bacteriology, July 2004, p. 4307-4314, Vol. 186, No. 13
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.13.4307-4314.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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