3 February 2005
A gene of two halves
More evidence that gene discovery requires the skills of a detective. The hyperthermophile parasite Nanoarchaeum equitans has the smallest known genome. Too small, it seemed, when it was realized that it lacks genes for four transfer RNAs essential for protein biosynthesis. But the mystery of how N. equitans copes has been solved: it does things by halves. Computational analysis reveals the 'missing' tRNA genes as half-molecules in the genome. The structure of the tRNA pieces suggests a mechanism for joining the half-molecules, and the organism contains full-length active versions of these tRNAs. Split genes may be the mark of an ancient organism (N. equitans is a member of the Archaea) or may be a result of genome size reduction.
Nanoarchaeum equitans creates functional tRNAs from separate genes for their 5′- and 3′-halves
LENNART RANDAU, RICHARD M�NCH, MICHAEL J. HOHN, DIETER JAHN & DIETER S�LL
Nature 433, 537–541 (2005); doi:10.1038/nature03233
| First Paragraph | Full Text (HTML / PDF) |
