141k views
1 vote
The insertion results in two new sites flanking the prophage. What are these sites?

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

The insertion produces two new direct repeats flanking the prophage, which are duplicated sequences of the host DNA at the site of transposon insertion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The insertion mentioned in the question results in two new sites flanking the prophage which are direct repeats of the target DNA. These direct repeats are not inverted repeats; instead, they are sequences of the host DNA that are duplicated during the insertion of transposons, such as a prophage within a bacterial chromosome. When a prophage is improperly excised from a bacterial chromosome, the left behind direct repeats may signify the previous site of insertion. Homologous recombination or site-specific recombination can resolve this cointegrate, which often results in the loss of direct repeats at the original donor site, while a copy of the transposon remains at the new insertion site location in the genome.

User Jennifer Yoon
by
8.2k points