Xenogeneic Silencing and Bacterial Genome Evolution: Mechanisms for DNA Recognition Imply Multifaceted Roles of Xenogeneic Silencers.

ABSTRACT: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a major driving force for bacterial evolution. To avoid the deleterious effects due to the unregulated expression of newly acquired foreign genes, bacteria have evolved specific proteins named xenogeneic silencers to recognize foreign DNA sequences and suppress their transcription. As there is considerable diversity in genomic base compositions among bacteria, how xenogeneic silencers distinguish self- from nonself DNA in different bacteria remains poorly understood. This review summarizes the progress in studying the DNA binding preferences and the underlying molecular mechanisms of known xenogeneic silencer families, represented by H-NS of Escherichia coli, Lsr2 of Mycobacterium, MvaT of Pseudomonas, and Rok of Bacillus. Comparative analyses of the publi

SUBMITTER: Duan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8476142 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature