P1-like plasmid in Escherichia coli 15

DNA recombination with a heterospecific Cre homolog identified from comparison of the pac-c1 regions of P1-related phages

Sequencing of the 7 kb immC region from four P1-related phages identified a novel DNA recombinase that exhibits many Cre-like characteristics, including recombination in mammalian cells, but which has a distinctly different DNA specificity. DNA sequence comparison to the P1 immC region showed that all phages had related DNA terminase, C1 repressor and DNA recombinase genes. Although these genes from phages P7, phi(w39) and p15B were highly similar to those from P1, those of phage D6 showed significant divergence. Moreover, the D6 sequence showed evidence of DNA deletion and substitution in this region relative to the other phages. Characterization of the D6 site-specific DNA recombinase (Dre) showed that it was a tyrosine recombinase closely related to the P1 Cre recombinase, but that it had a distinct DNA specificity for a 32 bp DNA site (rox). Cre and Dre are heterospecific: Cre did not catalyze recombination at rox sites and Dre did not catalyze recombination at lox sites. Like Cre, Dre catalyzed both integrative and excisive recombination and required no other phage-encoded proteins for recombination. Dre-mediated recombination in mammalian cells showed that, like Cre, no host bacterial proteins are required for efficient Dre-mediated site-specific DNA recombination.

DNA inversion regions Min of plasmid p15B and Cin of bacteriophage P1: evolution of bacteriophage tail fiber genes

Plasmid p15B and the genome of bacteriophage P1 are closely related, but their site-specific DNA inversion systems, Min and Cin, respectively, do not have strict structural homology. Rather, the complex Min system represents a substitution of a Cin-like system into an ancestral p15B genome. The substituting sequences of both the min recombinase gene and the multiple invertible DNA segments of p15B are, respectively, homologous to the pin recombinase gene and to part of the invertible DNA of the Pin system on the defective viral element e14 of Escherichia coli K-12. To map the sites of this substitution, the DNA sequence of a segment adjacent to the invertible segment in the P1 genome was determined. This, together with already available sequence data, indicated that both P1 and p15B had suffered various sequence acquisitions or deletions and sequence amplifications giving rise to mosaics of partially related repeated elements. Data base searches revealed segments of homology in the DNA inversion regions of p15B, e14, and P1 and in tail fiber genes of phages Mu, T4, P2, and lambda. This result suggest that the evolution of phage tail fiber genes involves horizontal gene transfer and that the Min and Pin regions encode tail fiber genes. A functional test proved that the p15B Min region carries a tail fiber operon and suggests that the alternative expression of six different gene variants by Min inversion offers extensive host range variation.

Gene organization in the multiple DNA inversion region min of plasmid p15B of E.coli 15T-: assemblage of a variable gene

The bacteriophage P1-related plasmid p15B of E. coli 15T- contains a 3.5 kb long region which frequently undergoes complex rearrangements by DNA inversion. Site-specific recombination mediated by the Min DNA invertase occurs at six crossover sites and it eventually results in a population of 240 isomeric configurations of this region. We have determined 8.3-kb sequences of the invertible DNA and its flanking regions. The result explains how DNA inversion fuses variable 3' parts to a constant 5' part, thereby alternatively assembling one out of six different open reading frames (ORF). The resulting variable gene has a coding capacity of between 739 and 762 amino acids. A large portion of its constant part is composed of repeated sequences. The p15B sequences in front of the variable fusion gene encode a small ORF and a phage-specific late promoter and are highly homologous to P1 DNA. Adjacent to the DNA invertase gene min, we have found a truncated 5' region of a DNA invertase gene termed psi cin which is highly homologous to the phage P1 cin gene. Its recombinational enhancer segment is inactive, but it can be activated by the substitution of two nucleotides.

The Min DNA inversion enzyme of plasmid p15B of Escherichia coli 15T-: a new member of the Din family of site-specific recombinases

Plasmid p15B is a bacteriophage P1-related resident of Escherichia coli 15T-. Both genomes contain a segment in which DNA inversion occurs, although this part of their genomes is not identical. This DNA segment of p15B was cloned in a multicopy vector plasmid. Like its parent, the resulting plasmid, pAW800, undergoes complex multiple DNA inversions: this DNA inversion system is therefore called Min. The min gene, which codes for the p15B Min DNA invertase, can complement the P1 cin recombinase gene. The Min inversion system is thus a new member of the Din family of site-specific recombinases to which Cin belongs. The DNA sequence of the min gene revealed that Min is most closely related to the Pin recombinase of the e14 defective viral element on the E. coli K12 chromosome. Like other members of the Din family, the min gene contains a recombinational enhancer element which stimulates site-specific DNA inversion 300-fold.

Use of a biotinylated DNA probe to detect bacteria transduced by bacteriophage P1 in soil

Presumptive bacteriophage P1 transductants of Escherichia coli, isolated from soil inoculated with lysates of transducing phage P1 and E. coli, were confirmed to be lysogenic for phage P1 by hybridization with a biotinylated DNA probe prepared from the 1.2-kilobase-pair HindIII 3 fragment of bacteriophage P1. No P1 lysogens of indigenous soil bacteria were detected with the DNA probe. The sensitivity and specificity of the DNA probe were assessed with purified and dot blot DNA, respectively. In addition, two techniques for the lysis and deproteinization of bacteria and bacteriophages on nitrocellulose filters were compared. These studies indicated that biotinylated DNA probes may be an effective alternative to conventional radiolabeled DNA probes for detecting specific gene sequences in bacteria indigenous to or introduced into soil.

Sequence relations among the IncY plasmid p15B, P1, and P7 prophages

Electron microscopic analysis of heteroduplex molecules between the 94-kb plasmid p15B and the 92-kb phage P1 genome revealed nine regions of nonhomology, eight substitutions, and two neighboring insertions. Overall, the homologous segments correspond to 83% of the P1 genome and 81% of p15B. Heteroduplex molecules between p15B and the 99-kb phage P7 genome showed nonhomology in eight of the same nine regions; in addition, two new nonhomologous segments are present and P7 carries a 5-kb insertion representing Tn902. The DNA homology between those two genomes amounts to 79% of P7 DNA and 83% of p15B. Plasmid p15B contains two stem-loop structures. One of them has no equivalent structure on P1 and P7 DNA. The other substitutes the invertible C segments of P1 and P7 and their flanking sequences including cin, the gene for the site-specific recombinase mediating inversion.

Physical analysis of the genomes of hybrid phages between phage P1 and plasmid p15B

The genomes of three plaque-forming recombinant phages between phage P1 and plasmid p15B were characterized by restriction cleavage analysis and electron microscopic heteroduplex studies. The structure of all three P1-15 hybrid genomes differs from that of P1 DNA in the res mod region coding for restriction and modification systems EcoP15 and EcoP1, respectively. P1-15 hybrid 2 shows an additional major difference to P1 around the site of the residential IS1 element of P1 and it does not carry an IS1 in its genome.

DNA restriction--modification genes of phage P1 and plasmid p15B. Structure and in vitro transcription

The EcoP1 and EcoP15 DNA restriction-modification systems are coded by the related P1 prophage and p15B plasmid. We have examined the organization of the genes for these systems using P1 itself, "P1-P15" hybrid phages expressing the EcoP15 restriction specificity of p15B and cloned restriction fragments derived from these phage DNAs. The results of transposon mutagenesis, restriction cleavage analysis. DNA heteroduplex analysis and in vitro transcription mapping allow the following conclusions to be drawn concerning the structural genes. (1) All of the genetic information necessary to specify either system is contained within a contiguous DNA segment of 5 x 10(3) bases which encodes two genes. One of them, necessary for both restriction and modification, we call mod and the other, required only for restriction (together with mod), we call res. (2) The res gene is about 2.8 x 10(3) bases long and at the heteroduplex level is largely identical for P1 and P15: it shows a small region of partial nonhomology and some restriction cleavage site differences. The mod gene is about 2.2 x 10(3) bases long and contains a 1.2 x 10(3) base long region of non-homology between P1 and P15 toward the N-terminus of the gene. The rest of the gene at this level of analysis is identical for the two systems. (3) Each of the genes is transcribed in vitro from its own promoter. It is possible that the res gene is also transcribed by readthrough from the mod promoter.

lambda altSF: a phage variant that acquired the ability to substitute specific sets of genes at high frequency

We report the isolation of lambda altSF, a variant of Escherichia coli phage lambda that substitutes sets of genes at high frequency. Two forms of the variant phage have been studied: lambda altSF lambda, which exhibits the immunity (repressor recognition) of phage lambda, and lambda altSF22, which exhibits the immunity of Salmonella phage P22. Lysates made from single plaques of lambda altSF lambda contain 10-30% phage of the P22 form. Similarly, lysates from single plaques of lambda altSF22 contain as much as 1% phage of the lambda form. Heteroduplex analyses reveal the following features of the lambda altSF chromosomes: (i) each form has the immunity genes appropriate to its immune phenotype, (ii) the substituted segments include genes involved in regulation and replication, and (iii) the alt phages have unusual additions and substitutions of DNA not normally found associated with either immunity region. In the case of lambda altSF lambda, there is a small insertion in the region of the cI gene. Because revertants that lose this inserted DNA concomitantly lose the ability to substitute, we conclude that the insertion plays a role in the substitution process. In the case of change from lambda altSF lambda to lambda altSF22, the substituting P22 genes are derived from the E. coli host. We have identified a set of Salmonella phage P22 genes in a standard nonlysogenic strain of E. coli K-12 that is apparently carried in a silent form. The reason for this lack of expression is not obvious, because this P22 material includes structural genes and associated promoters and is potentially active. When this set of genes substitutes for the analogous set of genetic material on the genome of lambda altSF lambda, the P22 genes are expressed in a normal manner.

Studies of a plasmid coding for tetracycline resistance and hydrogen sulfide production incompatible with the prophage P1

The plasmid pIP231, determining tetracycline resistance and hydrogen sulfide production is shown to belong to incompatibility group Y and to code for a restriction and modification system. Unlike the IncY plasmids, P7 and P15B, plasmid pIP231 shows only little genetic and physical homology with P1 prophage.

Detection of small cryptic plasmids in Salmonella typhimurium strain LT2

Small cryptic plasmids of molecular weights ranging from 1 to 3 Mdal were detected by electron microscopy in Salmonella typhimurium strain LT2 (ColIb). They were divided into different size classes. Two of the cryptic plasmids were transferred simultaneously with ColIb to Escherichia coli.

Compatibility properties of P1 and PhiAMP prophages

Although phages P1 and PhiAmp are heteroimmune (Chesney and Scott, 1975 and Yarmolinsky, unpublished), their plasmid prophages are incompatible. Thus, the immunity and compatibility systems are two distinct regulators of phage replication. The two prophages, and plasmid P15B (Ikeda, Inzuka and Tomizawa, 1970) constitute a new compatibility group, designated Y.

Indirect selection of bacterial plasmids lacking identifiable phenotypic properties

A procedure is described that uses an indicator plasmid (pSC201) to identify cells in a bacterial population that have been co-transformed with a second plasmid lacking detectable phenotypic properties. Under appropriate conditions of indirect selection, between 50 and 85% of transformants carrying the indicator plasmid also contain the nonselected plasmid. A temperature-sensitive mutation in the replication functions of the indicator plasmid enables its elimination from doubly transformed bacteria. Using this procedure, we have isolated bacteria that carry only the small cryptic plasmid. P15A, of the Escherichia coli strain 15. This genetic element, which contains only 2,300 nucleotide pairs, is thus capable of functioning as a replicon independently of the two larger plasmids normally associated with it in E. coli 15 strains (Ikeda, Inuzuka, and Tomizawa, 1970).

Separation of erythromycin-resistant and -susceptible subpopulations of Escherichia coli 15 by partition in two-polymer aqueous phases

Partition of cells in two-polymer aqueous phases depends on subtle differences in the cells' surface properties (primarily surface charge). A culture of Escherichia coli 15 arg(-) was subjected to countercurrent distribution in a dextranpolyethylene glycol aqueous phase system and found to consist of two well-differentiated subpopulations. Clones derived from these two subpopulations (designated clones 5 and 6) exhibited characteristic partitions and were stable on subculture. Clone 5 cells were found to be susceptible to erythromycin and clone 6 cells were resistant. When a culture of clone 5 was exposed to erythromycin, resistant mutants were selected with the same partition as clone 6. Countercurrent distribution in two-polymer aqueous phase systems is thus shown to be a sensitive method for detecting some heterogeneities of bacterial populations and resolving such mixtures. Possible clinical implications of changes in bacterial surface properties associated with acquired drug resistance are discussed.

Cryptic plasmids in a minicell-producing strain of Salmonella typhimurium

A minicell-producing strain of Salmonella typhimurium contains two cryptic plasmids. One has a molecular weight of 2.6 x 10(6) to 2.8 x 10(6), is present in multiple copies per cell, and segregates into minicells. The other has a molecular weight of 130 x 10(6), is present in few copies per cell, and probably does not segregate into minicells.

Extrachromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid in different enterobacteria

Eighty-seven different enterobacteria and pseudomonas strains were examined for the presence of extrachromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Thirty-four strains contained closed circular DNA by the ethidium bromide CsCl density technique. Extrachromosomal DNA was most frequent in Escherichia and Klebsiella strains. The extrachromosomal DNA was isolated and characterized by analytical ultracentrifugation and electron microscopy. All the extrachromosomal DNA-containing bacteria contained circular DNA molecules of small size (0.5-4 mum). Most of these bacteria also contained larger circles (20-40 mum). The number of different size classes of circular DNA in each strain varied from one to five. The buoyant density of the extrachromosomal DNA ranged from 1.692 to 1.721 g/cm(3). Many bacteria contained extrachromosomal DNA of more than one density.

Molecular weight of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesized during initiation of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli

Alkaline sucrose gradients were used to study the molecular weight of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesized during the initiation of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli 15 TAU-bar. The experiments were conducted to determine whether newly synthesized, replication origin DNA is attached to higher-molecular-weight parental DNA. Little of the DNA synthesized after readdition of required amino acids to cells previously deprived of the amino acids was present in DNA with a molecular weight comparable to that of the parental DNA. The newly synthesized, low-molecular-weight DNA rapidly appeared in higher-molecular-weight material, but there was an upper limit to the size of this intermediate-molecular-weight DNA. This limit was not observed when exponentially growing cells converted newly synthesized DNA to higher-molecular-weight material. The size of the intermediate-molecular-weight DNA was related to the age of the replication forks, and the size increased as the replication forks moved further from the replication origin. The results indicate that the newly synthesized replication origin DNA is not attached to parental DNA, but it is rapidly attached to the growing strands that extend from the replication fork to the replication origin, or to the other replication fork if replication is bidirectional. Experiments are reported which demonstrate that the DNA investigated was from the vicinity of the replication origin and was not plasmid DNA or DNA from random positions on the chromosome.

Isolation of minicircular deoxyribonucleic acids from wild strains of Escherichia coli and their relationship to other bacterial plasmids

Supercoiled minicircular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules with molecular weights of 1.8 x 10(6) and 2.3 x 10(6) have been isolated from two wild strains of Escherichia coli. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments indicate that these DNA molecules share extended homologies with the minicircular DNA of E. coli 15. The DNA of the colicinogenic factor E1 (ColE1) also hybridizes to a large extent with minicircular DNA of E. coli 15. In contrast, no hybridization could be detected with various large extrachromosomal DNA elements such as the colicinogenic factor V (ColV), the beta-hemolytic factor (Hly), or the P1-like DNA of E. coli 15. Two different insertion DNA species of E. coli integrated into lambdadg-DNA (lambdadg UP(in) 128, lambdadg UP(in) 308) do not show any annealing with minicircular DNA of E. coli 15.

Molecular structure of bacterial plasmids

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Deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization analysis of the defective bacteriophage carried by strain 15 of Escherichia coli

Evidence from several laboratories indicates that strain 15 of Escherichia coli is lysogenic for a defective phage. When lysates from induced cultures were centrifuged in CsCl, three bands were obtained. In order of decreasing density, these bands contained tailless particles, complete phages, and a second band of complete phages, in a ratio of 65.7:28.6:5.7. Reassociation rate measurements were used to establish that the molecular weights of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) species from the phages in the first two bands are similar. A smaller genome is postulated in the complete phages from the minor band. Hybridization experiments revealed extensive homology between the DNA species from all three phage bands, thus suggesting that the complete and tailless particles are not different at the genetic level. The DNA from each phage band was also shown to hybridize almost completely with DNA from either E. coli 15T(-) or a reportedly cured derivative of 15T(-). In contrast, only about 25% of each phage DNA was able to react with DNA from E. coli strains B and K-12 C-600.

Enzymatic characterization of a mutant of Escherichia coli with an altered DNA ligase

A temperature-sensitive, radiation-sensitive mutant of Escherichia coli has been assayed for DNA ligase activity in vitro. The strain contains a markedly reduced amount of DNA-joining activity, which is thermolabile. The formation of the ligase-adenylate intermediate is also temperature-sensitive in vitro. Two temperature-resistant revertants of the mutant contain normal amounts of a thermostable ligase. The mutant is killed by growth at 42 degrees C, a temperature at which it displays aberrant DNA synthesis. These results suggest that the ligase is necessary for normal DNA metabolism and viability in this strain.