Structures and stability of simple DNA repeats from bacteria

Brazda, Vaclav, Fojta, Miroslav and Bowater, Richard P ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2745-7807 (2020) Structures and stability of simple DNA repeats from bacteria. Biochemical Journal, 477 (2). pp. 325-339. ISSN 0264-6021

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Abstract

DNA is a fundamentally important molecule for all cellular organisms due to its biological role as the store of hereditary, genetic information. On the one hand, genomic DNA is very stable, both in chemical and biological contexts, and this assists its genetic functions. On the other hand, it is also a dynamic molecule, and constant changes in its structure and sequence drive many biological processes, including adaptation and evolution of organisms. DNA genomes contain significant amounts of repetitive sequences, which have divergent functions in the complex processes that involve DNA, including replication, recombination, repair, and transcription. Through their involvement in these processes, repetitive DNA sequences influence the genetic instability and evolution of DNA molecules and they are located non-randomly in all genomes. Mechanisms that influence such genetic instability have been studied in many organisms, including within human genomes where they are linked to various human diseases. Here, we review our understanding of short, simple DNA repeats across a diverse range of bacteria, comparing the prevalence of repetitive DNA sequences in different genomes. We describe the range of DNA structures that have been observed in such repeats, focusing on their propensity to form local, non-B-DNA structures. Finally, we discuss the biological significance of such unusual DNA structures and relate this to studies where the impacts of DNA metabolism on genetic stability are linked to human diseases. Overall, we show that simple DNA repeats in bacteria serve as excellent and tractable experimental models for biochemical studies of their cellular functions and influences.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	escherichia-coli,g-quadruplexes,g4 dna,genetic instability,i-motif,multilocus variable number,repair,simple sequence repeats,tandem repeats,triplet repeats,molecular biology,biochemistry,cell biology,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300/1312
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Molecular and Structural Biochemistry Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Biosciences Teaching and Education Research Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Molecular Microbiology
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	04 Feb 2020 04:43
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:45
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/73969
DOI:	10.1042/BCJ20190703

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