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Updated: Nov 19, 2025

The MultiBac Protein Complex Production Platform at the EMBL
Published on: July 11, 2013
Acquisition of pcnB [poly(A) polymerase I] genes via horizontal transfer from the β, γ-Proteobacteria
1Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Abstract:
Poly(A) polymerases (PAPs) and tRNA nucleotidyltransferases belong to a superfamily of nucleotidyltransferases and modify RNA 3'-ends. The product of the pcnB gene, PAP I, has been characterized in a few β-, γ- and δ-Proteobacteria. Using the PAP I signature sequence, putative PAPs were identified in bacterial species from the α- and ε-Proteobacteria and from four other bacterial phyla (Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Aquificae). Phylogenetic analysis, alien index and G+C content calculations strongly suggest that the PAPs in the species identified in this study arose by horizontal gene transfer from the β- and γ-Proteobacteria.
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