Mechanisms of gene conversion in the Rhizobium genome

In this line, we study the process of gene conversion occurring between repeated sequences in the Rhizobium genome. This process is particularly interesting, because it can explain the high identity in nucleotide sequence among repeated sequences, achieved through concerted evolution. Our work is devoted to understanding the mechanisms involved in its generation, in the context of the Double-Strand Break Repair Model. We are currently studying the effect of mutations in proteins involved in recombination on gene conversion, including initiation of recombination (addAB and recF), proofreading (mutS) and migration of the Holliday intermediate (ruvAB, recG and radA)

Participants: Mildred Castellanos, César Rodríguez, Jaime Martínez, David Romero