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Title: CONSERVATION OF THE UNIQUE RICKETTSIAL RRNA GENE ARRANGEMENT IN ANAPLASMA

Author
item RURANGIRWA, FRED - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV
item BRAYTON, KELLY - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV
item MC GUIRE, TRAVIS - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV
item Knowles Jr, Donald
item PALMER, GUY - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV

Submitted to: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2002
Publication Date: 7/1/2002
Citation: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology: (2002) 52, 1405-1409

Interpretive Summary: These data represent a characterization of conserved genomic structure within the Anaplasma marginale genome. This element the 16S rRNA is a marker for studying evolutionary events. We found that an atypical rRNA arrangement found in rickettsia was conserved in anaplasma.

Technical Abstract: The organization of the rRNA genes of Anaplasma marginale, the type species of the genus Anaplasma, was identified to determine if the atypical rRNA gene arrangement identified in rickettsiae preceded divergence of the order Rickettsiales into the families Anaplasmataceae and Rickettsiaceae. The rRNA genes are encoded by two unlinked units, each present in a single copy per A. marginale genome. The 165 rRNA gene is separated from the linked 235 and S5 rRNA genes by a minimum of 100 kb. Similar to species belonging to the genus Rickettsia, the typical bacterial 165-235 spacer region containing tRNA genes has been lost in A. marginale. In contrast, the fmt gene located upstream of the 235 rRNA gene in most Rickettsia spp. is not maintained in A. marginale, consistent with the fmt arrangement being a relatively late event in the evolution of rickettsial species.