Presence of multiple group I introns closely related to bacteria and fungi in plastid 23S rRNAs of lichen-forming Trebouxia Authors Eva M. del Campo Department of Plant Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid Leonardo M. Casano Department of Plant Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid Francisco Gasulla Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (CBIBE), Botany Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia Eva Barreno Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (CBIBE), Botany Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia Keywords: Trebouxia ssp., group I introns, plastid 23S rRNA, lichens, horizontal transfer Abstract The chloroplast-encoded large subunit ribosomal RNA gene of several free-living green algae contains group I introns at Escherichia coli genic positions 1917, 1931, 1951, and 2449. Herein we report the presence of group I introns at these positions within the chloroplast-encoded large subunit ribosomal RNA gene of several lichen-forming green algae belonging to the Trebouxia genus. In contrast to the introns inserted at position 2449, all introns inserted at positions 1917, 1931, and 1951 contained LAGLIDADG homing endonuclease genes. Phylogenetic analyses show that: (i) introns inserted at positions 1917, 1931, and 1951 are closely related to introns located at homologous insertion sites in bacterial rDNA genes; and (ii) introns inserted at position 2449 are closely related to fungal introns located at homologous insertion sites in mitochondrial rDNA genes. The symbiogenetic thalli of some lichens are proposed as the likely setting of horizontal transfer of genetic material among distantly related organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and green algae. [Int Microbiol 2009; 12(1):59-67] Author Biographies Eva M. del Campo, Department of Plant Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid Department of Plant Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid Leonardo M. Casano, Department of Plant Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid Department of Plant Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid Francisco Gasulla, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (CBIBE), Botany Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (CBIBE), Botany Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia Eva Barreno, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (CBIBE), Botany Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (CBIBE), Botany Department, Faculty of Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia Downloads PDF Published 2010-09-20 Issue Vol. 12 No. 1 (2009) Section Research Articles License Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.
