Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 19, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
Published on: August 20, 2019
FtsK translocation permits discrimination between an endogenous and an imported Xer/dif recombination complex
Florian Fournes1, Estelles Crozat1, Carine Pages1
1Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Génétique Moléculaires (LMGM), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, F-31062 Toulouse, France;
Abstract:
In bacteria, the FtsK/Xer/dif (chromosome dimer resolution site) system is essential for faithful vertical genetic transmission, ensuring the resolution of chromosome dimers during their segregation to daughter cells. This system is also targeted by mobile genetic elements that integrate into chromosomal dif sites. A central question is thus how Xer/dif recombination is tuned to both act in chromosome segregation and stably maintain mobile elements. To explore this question, we focused on pathogenic Neisseria species harboring a genomic island in their dif sites. We show that the FtsK DNA translocase acts differentially at the recombination sites flanking the genomic island. It stops at one Xer/dif complex, activating recombination, but it does not stop on the other site, thus dismantling it. FtsK translocation thus permits cis discrimination between an endogenous and an imported Xer/dif recombination complex.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon...
LTR Retrotransposons
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...

