Analysis of the characteristic sequence of intein and revision of its motifs

Since the first intein (Sce VMA) was found inSaccharomydes cerevisiae ATPases gene in 1990, more and more inteins were identified. It is necessary to analyze the new inteins to understand the sequence charateristics of inteins. By searching protein and nucleic acid database systematically, 101 inteins were found, of which 69 inteins contain homing endonuclease motifs. We only analyze the 69 inteins since most inteins are the classic inteins with homing endonuclease motifs. We found that the distribution of these inteins is particular among species and protein. By multiple sequence alignment, some new sequence characteristics were found and the motifs described previously were revised.