Insight into the presence of selenocysteine among mycobacteria

• The Mycobacterium genus includes more than 190 species and occupies diverse ecological niches, and mycobacteria can be isolated from soil, water, humans and animals. Some are nonpathogenic and environmental, whereas others cause severe diseases both in humans and animals e.g. tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy. The 21st amino acid SelenoCysteine (SeC) is present in all three domains of life. In some mRNAs, an inframe stop codon UGA and a structural element, referred to as SECIS, are recognized by the tRNASeC-SelB-GTP complex resulting in SeC insertion during translation. Proteins having SeC are known as selenoproteins and some are involved in redox reactions and as such having roles in cell physiology. So far, only 20% of sequenced bacteria are known to incorporate selenocysteine. To study the presence of selenocysteine among mycobacteria we analysed 244 mycobacterial genomes for the presence of the selenocysteine machinery genes and selenoproteins. Our results suggested that more than 40% of the analysed mycobacterial genomes contain SeC related genes. Genes for the SeC machinery (selA, selB, selC and selD) are distributed evenly among slow and rapid growing mycobacteria and we identified only one selenoprotein, formate dehydrogenes, present in mycobacteria. Together our data expand our understanding of the selenocysteine metabolism among mycobacteria.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Selenocysteine

SECIS

Selenoprotein

Mycobacteria

Formate dehydrogenase

Biologi

Biology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

pop (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)