Survival mechanisms for Streptomyces linear replicons after telomere damage

Telomere exchange between linear replicons of Borrelia burgdorferi.

Spirochetes in the genus Borrelia carry a linear chromosome and numerous linear plasmids that have covalently closed hairpin telomeres. The overall organization of the large chromosome of Borrelia burgdorferi appears to have been quite stable over recent evolutionary time; however, a large fraction of natural isolates carry differing lengths of DNA that extend the right end of the chromosome be...

The circle is broken: telomere resolution in linear replicons.

Linear DNA molecules with covalently closed hairpin ends (telomeres) exist in a wide variety of organisms. Telomere resolution, a DNA breakage and reunion reaction in which replicated telomeres are processed into hairpin ends, is now known to be a common theme in poxviruses, Borrelia burgdorferi and Escherichia coli phage N15. Candidate proteins that may perform this reaction have recently been...

Topoisomerase IV is required for partitioning of circular chromosomes but not linear chromosomes in Streptomyces

Filamentous bacteria of the genus Streptomyces possess linear chromosomes and linear plasmids. Theoretically, linear replicons may not need a decatenase for post-replicational separation of daughter molecules. Yet, Streptomyces contain parC and parE that encode the subunits for the decatenase topoisomerase IV. The linear replicons of Streptomyces adopt a circular configuration in vivo through t...

Telomere recombination and alternative telomere lengthening mechanisms.

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at the ends of linear chromosomes that protect them from being recognized as DNA double stranded breaks. Telomeres shorten with every cell division and in the absence of the checkpoint mechanisms critical telomere shortening leads to chromosome end fusions and genomic instability. Cancer cells achieve immortality by engaging in one of the two known mechani...

Telomere Shortening Mechanisms