Database resources of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

In addition to maintaining the GenBank nucleic acid sequence database, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) provides data analysis and retrieval resources that operate on the data in GenBank and a variety of other biological data made available through NCBI's Web site. NCBI data retrieval resources include Entrez, PubMed, LocusLink and the Taxonomy Browser. Data analysis resources include BLAST, Electronic PCR, OrfFinder, RefSeq, UniGene, HomoloGene, Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (dbSNP), Human Genome Sequencing, Human MapViewer, GeneMap'99, Human-Mouse Homology Map, Cancer Chromosome Aberration Project (CCAP), Entrez Genomes, Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) database, Retroviral Genotyping Tools, Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP), SAGEmap, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Online Mendelian Inheri-tance in Man (OMIM), the Molecular Modeling Database (MMDB) and the Conserved Domain Database (CDD). Augmenting many of the Web applications are custom implementations of the BLAST program optimized to search specialized data sets. All of the resources can be accessed through the NCBI home page at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov.

The bacterial replicative helicase DnaB evolved from a RecA duplication.

The RecA/Rad51/DCM1 family of ATP-dependent recombinases plays a crucial role in genetic recombination and double-stranded DNA break repair in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryota. DnaB is the replication fork helicase in all Bacteria. We show here that DnaB shares significant sequence similarity with RecA and Rad51/DMC1 and two other related families of ATPases, Sms and KaiC. The conserved region spans the entire ATP- and DNA-binding domain that consists of about 250 amino acid residues and includes 7 distinct motifs. Comparison with the three-dimensional structure of Escherichia coli RecA and phage T7 DnaB (gp4) reveals that the area of sequence conservation includes the central parallel beta-sheet and most of the connecting helices and loops as well as a smaller domain that consists of a amino-terminal helix and a carboxy-terminal beta-meander. Additionally, we show that animals, plants, and the malarial Plasmodium but not Saccharomyces cerevisiae encode a previously undetected DnaB homolog that might function in the mitochondria. The DnaB homolog from Arabidopsis also contains a DnaG-primase domain and the DnaB homolog from the nematode seems to contain an inactivated version of the primase. This domain organization is reminiscent of bacteriophage primases-helicases and suggests that DnaB might have been horizontally introduced into the nuclear eukaryotic genome via a phage vector. We hypothesize that DnaB originated from a duplication of a RecA-like ancestor after the divergence of the bacteria from Archaea and eukaryotes, which indicates that the replication fork helicases in Bacteria and Archaea/Eukaryota have evolved independently.

Database resources of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

In addition to maintaining the GenBank(R) nucleic acid sequence database, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) provides data analysis and retrieval and resources that operate on the data in GenBank and a variety of other biological data made available through NCBI's Web site. NCBI data retrieval resources include Entrez, PubMed, LocusLink and the Taxonomy Browser. Data analysis resources include BLAST, Electronic PCR, OrfFinder, RefSeq, UniGene, Database of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (dbSNP), Human Genome Sequencing pages, GeneMap'99, Davis Human-Mouse Homology Map, Cancer Chromosome Aberration Project (CCAP) pages, Entrez Genomes, Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) database, Retroviral Genotyping Tools, Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP) pages, SAGEmap, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and the Molecular Modeling Database (MMDB). Augmenting many of the Web applications are custom implementations of the BLAST program optimized to search specialized data sets. All of the resources can be accessed through the NCBI home page at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov

Did DNA replication evolve twice independently?

DNA replication is central to all extant cellular organisms. There are substantial functional similarities between the bacterial and the archaeal/eukaryotic replication machineries, including but not limited to defined origins, replication bidirectionality, RNA primers and leading and lagging strand synthesis. However, several core components of the bacterial replication machinery are unrelated or only distantly related to the functionally equivalent components of the archaeal/eukaryotic replication apparatus. This is in sharp contrast to the principal proteins involved in transcription and translation, which are highly conserved in all divisions of life. We performed detailed sequence comparisons of the proteins that fulfill indispensable functions in DNA replication and classified them into four main categories with respect to the conservation in bacteria and archaea/eukaryotes: (i) non-homologous, such as replicative polymerases and primases; (ii) containing homologous domains but apparently non-orthologous and conceivably independently recruited to function in replication, such as the principal replicative helicases or proofreading exonucleases; (iii) apparently orthologous but poorly conserved, such as the sliding clamp proteins or DNA ligases; (iv) orthologous and highly conserved, such as clamp-loader ATPases or 5'-->3' exonucleases (FLAP nucleases). The universal conservation of some components of the DNA replication machinery and enzymes for DNA precursor biosynthesis but not the principal DNA polymerases suggests that the last common ancestor (LCA) of all modern cellular life forms possessed DNA but did not replicate it the way extant cells do. We propose that the LCA had a genetic system that contained both RNA and DNA, with the latter being produced by reverse transcription. Consequently, the modern-type system for double-stranded DNA replication likely evolved independently in the bacterial and archaeal/eukaryotic lineages.

Toprim--a conserved catalytic domain in type IA and II topoisomerases, DnaG-type primases, OLD family nucleases and RecR proteins.

Iterative profile searches and structural modeling show that bacterial DnaG-type primases, small primase-like proteins from bacteria and archaea, type IA and type II topoisomerases, bacterial and archaeal nucleases of the OLD family and bacterial DNA repair proteins of the RecR/M family contain a common domain, designated Toprim (topoisomerase-primase) domain. The domain consists of approximately 100 amino acids and has two conserved motifs, one of which centers at a conserved glutamate and the other one at two conserved aspartates (DxD). Examination of the structure of Topo IA and Topo II and modeling of the Toprim domains of the primases reveal a compact beta/alpha fold, with the conserved negatively charged residues juxtaposed, and inserts seen in Topo IA and Topo II. The conserved glutamate may act as a general base in nucleotide polymerization by primases and in strand rejoining by topoisomerases and as a general acid in strand cleavage by topoisomerases and nucleases. The role of this glutamate in catalysis is supported by site-directed mutagenesis data on primases and Topo IA. The DxD motif may coordinate Mg2+that is required for the activity of all Toprim-containing enzymes. The common ancestor of all life forms could encode a prototype Toprim enzyme that might have had both nucleotidyl transferase and polynucleotide cleaving activity.

Histone deacetylases, acetoin utilization proteins and acetylpolyamine amidohydrolases are members of an ancient protein superfamily.

Searches of several sequence databases reveal that human HD1, yeast HDA1, yeast RPD3 and other eukaryotic histone deacetylases share nine motifs with archaeal and eubacterial enzymes, including acetoin utilization protein (acuC) and acetylpolyamine amidohydrolase. Histone deacetylase and acetylpolyamine amidohydrolase also share profound functional similarities in that both: (i) recognize an acetylated aminoalkyl group; (ii) catalyze the removal of the acetyl group by cleaving an amide bond; (iii) increase the positive charge of the substrate. Stabilization of nucleosomal DNA-histone interaction brought about by the change in charge has been implicated as the underlying cause for histone deacetylase-mediated transcriptional repression. We speculate that the eukaryotic histone deacetylases originated from a prokaryotic enzyme similar to the acetylpolyamine amidohydrolases that relied on reversible acetylation and deacetylation of the aminoalkyl group of a DNA binding molecule to achieve a gene regulatory effect.

Biodiversity, genomes, and DNA sequence databases.

There are approximately 1.4 million organisms on this planet that have been described morphologically but there is no comparable coverage of biodiversity at the molecular level. Little more than 1% of the known species have been subject to any molecular scrutiny and eukaryotic genome projects have focused on a group of closely related model organisms. The past year, however, has seen an approximately 80% increase in the number of species represented in sequence databases and the completion of the sequencing of three prokaryotic genomes. Large-scale sequencing projects seem set to begin coverage of a wider range of the eukaryotic diversity, including green plants, microsporidians and diplomonads.

Insights into the evolution of nuclear dualism in the ciliates revealed by phylogenetic analysis of rRNA sequences.

The small subunit rRNA gene sequences of the karyorelictean ciliates, Loxodes striatus and Protocruzia sp., and the heterotrichian ciliates, Climacostomum virens and Eufolliculina uhligi, were used to test the evolution of nuclear dualism in the Phylum Ciliophora. Phylogenies derived using a least squares distance method, neighbour joining, and maximum parsimony demonstrate that the karyorelictean ciliates sensu Small and Lynn, 1985 do not form a monophyletic group. However, Loxodes and the heterotrich ciliates form the first branch in the ciliate lineage, and Protocruzia branches, in distance methods, basal to the spirotrich lineage. It is proposed that Protocruzia be removed from the Class Karyorelictea, and placed in closer taxonomic association with the spirotrich lineage. The distribution of nuclear division types along the phylogenetic tree is consistent with the notion that macronuclei incapable of division represent a derived rather than a primitive or "karyorelictid" character trait.

Phylogenetic relationships of the Nassulida within the phylum Ciliophora inferred from the complete small subunit rRNA gene sequences of Furgasonia blochmanni, Obertrumia georgiana, and Pseudomicrothorax dubius.

Using comparisons of complete small subunit rRNA sequences from the ciliated protozoans Furgasonia blochmanni, Obertrumia georgiana, and Pseudomicrothorax dubius we inferred the phylogenetic position of the Nassulida (Class Nassophorea) within the Ciliophora. In distance matrix analyses the Nassulida share a common ancestry with the colpodean ciliate Colpoda inflata. Distance matrix and parsimony methods convincingly demonstrate that the Nassulida plus Colpodida are members of a complex ciliate assemblage that also includes the oligohymenophorans and phyllopharyngeans. These phylogenetic inferences are largely congruent with recent analyses of 23S-like rRNA gene sequences and morphogenetic features. Groups traditionally thought to represent ancestral lineages now appear as highly derived ciliates. In contrast, heterotrichs which were considered to represent a highly evolved group, diverge at the base of the ciliates.

The unusually long small subunit ribosomal RNA of Phreatamoeba balamuthi.

The small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) of the anaerobic amoeba Phreatamoeba balamuthi is the longest 16S-like rRNA sequenced to date. Secondary structure analysis suggests that the additional sequence is incorporated in canonical eukaryotic expansion regions and is not due to the presence of introns. Reverse transcriptase sequencing of total RNA extracts confirmed that two uncommonly long expansion regions are present in native P. balamuthi 16S-like rRNA. Primary sequence comparison and similar secondary structure indicate a 61 base stem and loop repeat within an expansion region; a mechanism whereby the repeat may have been incorporated is presented. P. balamuthi provides further evidence that 16S-like rRNA length does not correlate with phylogenetic position.

Small subunit ribosomal RNA+ of Hexamita inflata and the quest for the first branch in the eukaryotic tree.

A phylogenetic analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (16S-like rRNA) coding region from Hexamita inflata demonstrates that parasitism alone cannot explain early diverging eukaryotic lineages. Parasitic and free-living diplomonads, as well as trichomonads and microsporidia, diverge at the base of the eukaryotic tree. The relative branching order of diplomonads, trichomonads and microsporidia is influenced by outlying prokaryotic taxa with different G+C compositions in their rRNA coding regions. The high G+C prokaryotes position Giardia lamblia at the base of the eukaryotic tree but split diplomonads into a paraphyletic group. When the outlying groups are restricted to rRNAs with nominal G+C compositions, diplomonads form a monophyletic group that diverged after the microsporidia and trichomonads. This unstable branching pattern correlates with unusual nucleotide compositions in the rRNAs of G. lamblia (75% G+C) and Vairimorpha necatrix (35% G+C). In contrast, the 51% G+C composition of the H. inflata rRNA is typical of other eukaryotic rRNAs. Its divergence after trichomonads is strongly supported by bootstrap replicates in distance analyses that do not include G. lamblia. Because of a low G+C composition in its rRNA coding region, the phylogenetic placement of V. necatrix is uncertain and the identity of the deepest branching eukaryotic lineage is ambiguous.

Stomatogenesis in the ditransversal ciliate Homalozoon vermiculare (Ciliophora, Rhabdophora).

H. vermiculare possesses about 10 somatic kineties on the right lateral side, 3 somatic kineties on the left lateral side and a single circumoral kinety. The somatic kineties are composed of monokinetids exc\~ept for the anterior ends of the brush kineties which are composed of dikinetids. The circumoral kinety consists of paired kinetosomes one of which is nonciliated and associated with a microtubular lamella and a nematodesma. Stomatogenesis commences when the anteriormost somatic kinetosomes in the opisthe are transformed into the nonciliated kinetosomes of the future oral dikinetid. They lose the somatic infraciliary fibers and the ciliary shaft and each gives rise to a nematodesma and a microtubular ribbon. Adjacent to each of the transformed somatic kinetosomes, a new kinetosome is assembled, thus producing an oral dikinetid anlage. The new anterior kinetosome bears a cilium and becomes the ciliferous kinetosome of the oral wreath of cilia. In protargol stained specimens, proliferation of kinetosomes can first be observed in the left lateral kineties but, eventually, each of the somatic kineties produces one kinetofragment. Thus, H. vermiculare has a holotelokinetal type of stomatogenesis. The cirumoral kinety arises from a counter-clockwise rotation (as viewed from outside the cell) of all 15 dikinetid kinetofragments and subsequent "head to tail" fusion of the fragments after cell division has been completed. The oral apparatus of the proter seems to be largely conserved during division. Some aspects of the evolution of the oral apparatus and the origin of the oral microtubular ribbons are discussed.