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Title: AN ANALYSIS OF A SPIROPLASMA KUNKELII GENOME SEGMENT THAT INCLUDES A CLUSTER OF RIBOSOMAL PROTEIN GENES

Author
item Zhao, Yan
item Davis, Robert
item Lee, Ing Ming
item MARTINI, MARTA - BOLOGNA ITALY
item JOMANTIENE, RASA - VILNIUS LITHUANIA

Submitted to: BARC Poster Day
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/10/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Corn stunt disease is a major constraint to corn production in the Americas. In early 1970's, it was discovered that a cell wall-less, helical, and motile mycoplasma-like organism is responsible for this devastating disease. This mycoplasma-like organism was given the name "spiroplasma", representing an entirely new group of pathogens. Since then, progress has been made in managing and controlling the disease, however the molecular mechanisms of spiroplasma pathogenesis remain unknown. Currently, a collaborative research effort is under way to sequence the entire genome of S. kunkelii, which will help in understanding the genetic, biochemical, and physiological processes that operate in the pathogen and lead to the development of novel strategies to combat the disease. As part of the genome project, we analyzed an 85 kbp DNA segment from the pathogenic strain CR2-3x of S. kunkelii. This genome segment contains 101 open reading frames (ORFs), covering 81.1% of its length. Among the ORFs, 76 can be assigned to respective clusters of orthologous groups (COG). The suggested functions of the deduced proteins cover all major functional categories. In addition to the protein-encoding capabilities, this genome segment also includes two tRNA genes. The most notable gene cluster found in this genome segment is a super operon capable of encoding 30 proteins, of which 26 are ribosomal proteins. A region of gene duplications and domain rearrangements was identified. This possible phase variable region is flanked by sequences of spiroplasma virus origin. This is the first comprehensive analysis of a large genomic segment from a plant-pathogenic mollicute.