Ddp6 is a high-copy number, circular plasmid found in the nucleus of t
he simple eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum wild isolate NC47.2. The
complete nucleotide sequence, 5257 bp, shows that Ddp6 has a structure
similar to that of other members of the Ddp2 plasmid family: a single
long 2.8-kb open reading frame (rep gene) and an inverted repeat cont
aining a pair of 654-bp elements. A single constitutively expressed 3.
3-kb transcript of the rep gene was detected in RNA prepared from vege
tative and developmental cells. Maintenance assays revealed that seque
nces within the inverted repeat and the intact Ddp6 ORF are essential
for maintenance of the plasmid. Mutation of the inverted repeat, or of
the rep gene, lowered the plasmid copy number but did not affect auto
nomous replication of shuttle-vector constructs. Comparisons of the pr
edicted protein products of the rep genes of five members of the Ddp2
plasmid family identified a set of ten conserved features distributed
throughout the peptides.