Promiscuous restriction is a cellular defense strategy that confers fitness advantage to bacteria

Vasu, K. ; Nagamalleswari, E. ; Nagaraja, V. (2012) Promiscuous restriction is a cellular defense strategy that confers fitness advantage to bacteria Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109 (20). E1287-E1293. ISSN 0027-8424

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Official URL: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/04/10/11192...

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1119226109

Abstract

Most bacterial genomes harbor restriction–modification systems, encoding a REase and its cognate MTase. On attack by a foreign DNA, the REase recognizes it as nonself and subjects it to restriction. Should REases be highly specific for targeting the invading foreign DNA? It is often considered to be the case. However, when bacteria harboring a promiscuous or high-fidelity variant of the REase were challenged with bacteriophages, fitness was maximal under conditions of catalytic promiscuity. We also delineate possible mechanisms by which the REase recognizes the chromosome as self at the noncanonical sites, thereby preventing lethal dsDNA breaks. This study provides a fundamental understanding of how bacteria exploit an existing defense system to gain fitness advantage during a host–parasite coevolutionary “arms race.”

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to National Academy of Sciences, USA.
Keywords:Evolution; KpnI; Promiscuous Activity; DNA Cleavage; Genome Protection
ID Code:98167
Deposited On:03 Apr 2014 04:54
Last Modified:03 Apr 2014 04:54

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