We have recently described three group I introns inserted into a single gene, orf142, of the staphylococcal bacteriophage Twort and suggested the presence of at least two additional self-splicing introns in this phage genome. Here we report that two previously uncharacterized introns, 429 and 1087 nt in length, interrupt the Twort gene coding for the large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (n...

RNA editing of cytidine (C) to uridine (U) transitions occurs in plastids and mitochondria of most land plants. In this study, we amplified and sequenced the group I intron-containing tRNA Leu gene, trnL-CAA, from Takakia lepidozioides, a moss. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the T. lepidozioides tRNA Leu gene consisted of a 35-bp 5' exon, a 469-bp group I intron and a 50-bp 3' exon. The in...

Preincubation of the group I intron Ca.LSU from Candida albicans at 37 degrees C in the absence of divalent cations results in partial folding of this intron. This is indicated by increased resistance to T1 ribonuclease cleavage of many G residues in most local helices, including P4-P6, as well as the non-local helix P7, where the G binding site is located. These changes correlate with increase...

It is well understood how mobile introns home to allelic sites, but how they are stimulated to transpose to ectopic locations on an evolutionary timescale is unclear. Here we show that a group I intron can move to degenerate sites under oxidizing conditions. The phage T4 td intron endonuclease, I-TevI, is responsible for this infidelity. We demonstrate that I-TevI, which promotes mobility and i...