- THIS ARTICLE
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- SERVICES
- Email this article to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Alert me to new issues of the journal
- Download to citation manager
- Reprints & Permissions
- CITING ARTICLES
- Citing Articles via HighWire
- Citing Articles via Google Scholar
- GOOGLE SCHOLAR
- Articles by Corre, J.
- Articles by Louarn, J.-M.
- Search for Related Content
- PUBMED
- PubMed Citation
- Articles by Corre, J.
- Articles by Louarn, J.-M.
Prophage 
Induces Terminal Recombination in Escherichia coli by Inhibiting Chromosome Dimer Resolution: An Orientation-Dependent cis-Effect Lending Support to Bipolarization of the Terminus
Jacqueline Correa,
Josette Pattea, and
Jean-Michel Louarna
a Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Génétique Moléculaires, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France
Corresponding author: Jean-Michel Louarn, Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Génétique Moléculaires du CNRS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France., louarn{at}ibcg.biotoul.fr (E-mail)
Communicating editor: R. MAURER
inserted by homologous recombination near dif, the chromosome dimer resolution site of Escherichia coli, is excised at a frequency that depends on its orientation with respect to dif. In wild-type cells, terminal hyper- (TH) recombination is prophage specific and undetectable by a test involving deletion of chromosomal segments between repeats identical to those used for prophage insertion. TH recombination is, however, detected in both excision and deletion assays when 
dif, xerC, or ftsK mutations inhibit dimer resolution: lack of specialized resolution apparently results in recombinogenic lesions near dif. We also observed that the presence near dif of the prophage, in the orientation causing TH recombination, inhibits dif resolution activity. By its recombinogenic effect, this inhibition explains the enhanced prophage excision in wild-type cells. The primary effect of the prophage is probably an alteration of the dimer resolution regional control, which requires that dif is flanked by suitably oriented (polarized) stretches of DNA. Our model postulates that the prophage inserted near dif in the deleterious orientation disturbs chromosome polarization on the side of the site where it is integrated, because DNA, like the chromosome, is polarized by sequence elements. Candidate sequences are oligomers that display skewed distributions on each oriC-dif chromosome arm and on DNA.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  E. K. O'Reilly and K. N. Kreuzer Isolation of SOS Constitutive Mutants of Escherichia coli J. Bacteriol., November 1, 2004; 186(21): 7149 - 7160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. P. C. Rocha The replication-related organization of bacterial genomes Microbiology, June 1, 2004; 150(6): 1609 - 1627. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Corre and J.-M. Louarn Evidence from Terminal Recombination Gradients that FtsK Uses Replichore Polarity To Control Chromosome Terminus Positioning at Division in Escherichia coli J. Bacteriol., July 15, 2002; 184(14): 3801 - 3807. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. I. Guijo, J. Patte, M. del Mar Campos, J.-M. Louarn, and J. E. Rebollo Localized Remodeling of the Escherichia coli Chromosome: The Patchwork of Segments Refractory and Tolerant to Inversion Near the Replication Terminus Genetics, April 1, 2001; 157(4): 1413 - 1423. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|