[Lysogeny and lysogenic conversion in methylotropic bacteria. I. Demonstration of the lysogenic state of the facultative methanol-assimilating strain of Acetobacter MB 58/1 and characterization of its temperate phage MO 1]

Repression of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli by an antisense RNA of Acetobacter methanolicus phage Acm1

Lysogenic Acetobacter methanolicus strains carrying the prophage Acm1 were found to be unable to synthesize both the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) and the O-specific side-chain of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to represent rough variants of the host bacterium. A 262 bp DNA fragment of phage Acm1, obviously required for interference with LPS biosynthesis, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Independently of the O-type, transformation of various E. coli strains with the recombinant DNA resulted in a suppression of biosynthesis of the O-specific chains. The DNA fragment of phage Acm1 contained three very short open reading frames of 21, 24, and 36 bp. However, attempts to express phage-encoded peptides were not successful. Instead, the Acm1-derived DNA fragment was shown to code for the synthesis of a trans-acting RNA molecule of 97 nucleotides, designated lbi (LPS biosynthesis-interfering) RNA. This RNA contains sequence complementarity to E. coli target RNA sequences and appears to have the ability to form intracellularly RNA hybrid duplexes with mRNA. The data presented in this study support the hypothesis that the phenotypic effect of conversion to rough-type LPS is accompanied by the expression of an antisense RNA of phage Acm1.

Genetic organization of Acetobacter for acetic acid fermentation

Plasmid vectors for the acetic acid-producing strains of Acetobacter and Gluconobacter were constructed from their cryptic plasmids and the efficient transformation conditions were established. The systems allowed to reveal the genetic background of the strains used in the acetic acid fermentation. Genes encoding indispensable components in the acetic acid fermentation, such as alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase and terminal oxidase, were cloned and characterized. Spontaneous mutations at high frequencies in the acetic acid bacteria to cause the deficiency in ethanol oxidation were analyzed. A new insertion sequence element, IS1380, was identified as a major factor of the genetic instability, which causes insertional inactivation of the gene encoding cytochrome c, an essential component of the functional alcohol dehydrogenase complex. Several genes including the citrate synthase gene of A. aceti were identified to confer acetic acid resistance, and the histidinolphosphate aminotransferase gene was cloned as a multicopy suppressor of an ethanol sensitive mutant. Improvement of the acetic acid productivity of an A. aceti strain was achieved through amplification of the aldehyde dehydrogenase gene with a multicopy vector. In addition, spheroplast fusion of the Acetobacter strains was developed and applied to improve their properties.

[Lysogeny and lysogenic conversion in methylotrophic bacteria. II. Lysogenic conversion in facultative methanol-assimilating Acetobacter strains]

The lysogenic state of the methylotrophic strain Acetobacter MB 58/1 is completely demonstrated by curing and lysogenization experiments. During these investigations we found that some phenotypic characteristics are modified by the presence or loss of the prophage MO 1. It could be shown that changes of the serological behaviour, the adsorption of the phages and the sensitivity against oxytetracycline are caused by lysogenic conversion. The phenotypic alterations of the bacterial cells induced by the phage genome are the result of modifications of the lipopolysaccharide structures on the cell surface. In the case of oxytetracycline resistance, interactions between the modified lipopolysaccharide structures and specific transport proteins of the cell membranes must be assumed.