Biased Gene Conversion in Rhizobium etli Is Caused by Preferential Double-Strand Breaks on One of the Recombining Homologs

Gene conversion, the nonreciprocal transfer of information during homologous recombination, is the main process that maintains identity between members of multigene families. Gene conversion in the nitrogenase (nifH ) multigene family ofRhizobium etli was analyzed by using a two-plasmid system, where each plasmid carried a copy ofnifH . One of thenifH copies was modified, creating restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) spaced along the gene. Once the modified plasmid was introduced intoR. etli , selection was done for cointegration with a resident plasmid lacking the RFLPs. Most of the cointegrate molecules harbor gene conversion events, biased toward a gain of RFLPs. This bias may be explained under the double-strand break repair model by proposing that thenifH gene lacking the RFLPs suffers a DNA double-strand break, so the incoming plasmid functions as a template for repairing the homolog on the resident plasmid. To support this proposal, we cloned an SceI site into thenifH homolog that had the RFLPs used for scoring gene conversion.In vivo expression of the meganuclease I-SceI allowed the generation of a double-strand break on this homolog. Upon introduction of this modified plasmid into anR. etli strain lacking I-SceI, biased gene conversion still favored the retention of markers on the incoming plasmid. In contrast, when the recipient strain ectopically expressed I-SceI, a dramatic reversal in gene conversion bias was seen, favoring the preservation of resident sequences. These results show that biased gene conversion is caused by preferential double-strand breaks on one of the recombining homologs.IMPORTANCE In this work, we analyzed gene conversion by using a system that entails horizontal gene transfer followed by homologous recombination in the recipient cell. Most gene conversion events are biased toward the acquisition of the incoming sequences, ranging in size from 120 bp to 800 bp. This bias is due to preferential cutting of resident DNA and can be reversed upon introduction of a double-strand break on the incoming sequence. Since conditions used in this work are similar to those in horizontal gene transfer, it provides evidence that, upon transfer, the resident DNA preferentially acquires gene variants.