Chromosomal gene capture mediated by the Pseudomonas putida TOL catabolic plasmid.

The Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmid pWW0 is able to mediate chromosomal mobilization in the canonical unidirectional way, i.e., from donor to recipient cells, and bidirectionally, i.e., donor-->recipient-->donor (retrotransfer). Transconjugants are recipient cells that have received DNA from donor cells, whereas retrotransconjugants are donor bacteria that have received DNA from a recipient. The TOL plasmid pWW0 is able to directly mobilize and retromobilize a kanamycin resistance marker integrated into the chromosome of other P. putida strains, a process that appears to involve a single conjugational event. The rate of retrotransfer (as well as of direct transfer) of the chromosomal marker is influenced by the location of the kanamycin marker on the chromosome and ranges from 10(-3) to less than 10(-8) retrotransconjugants per donor (transconjugants per recipient). The mobilized DNA is incorporated into the chromosome of the retrotransconjugants (transconjugants) in a process that seems to occur through recombination of highly homologous flanking regions. No interspecific mobilization of the chromosomal marker in matings involving P. putida and the closely related Pseudomonas fluorescens, which belongs to rRNA group I, was observed.     

Regulation of alkane oxidation in Pseudomonas putida.

We have studied the appearance of whole-cell oxidizing activity for n-alkanes and their oxidation products in strains of Pseudomonas putida carrying the OCT plasmid. Our results indicate that the OCT plasmid codes for inducible alkane-hydroxylating and primary alcohol-dehydrogenating activities and that the chromosome codes for constitutive oxidizing activities for primary alcohols, aliphatic aldehydes, and fatty acids. Mutant isolation confirms the presence of an alcohol dehydrogenase locus on the OCT plasmid and indicated the presence of multiple alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase loci on the P. putida chromosome. Induction tests with various compounds indicate that inducer recognition has specificity for chain length and can be affected by the degree of oxidation of the carbon chain. Some inducers are neither growth nor respiration substrates. Growth tests with and without a gratuitous inducer indicate that undecane is not a growth substrate because it does not induce alkane hydroxylase activity. Using a growth test for determining induction of the plasmid alcohol dehydrogenase it is possible to show that heptane induces this activity in hydroxylase-negative mutants. This suggests that unoxidized alkane molecules are the physiological inducers of both plasmid activities.     

Dissociation of a Degradative Plasmid Aggregate in Pseudomonas

The infectious plasmid OCT, which specifies a set of dissimilatory enzymes responsible for the degradation of n-octane, has been shown to be an aggregate of a noninfectious OCT plasmid and an infectious plasmid with sex factor activity. The infectious plasmid, which can be eliminated from the cells of Pseudomonas putida by mitomycin C treatment without loss of the OCT plasmid and vice versa, has been designated as factor K. The infectious plasmid (factor K) is not only responsible for the mobilization of OCT, but also mobilizes chromosomal genes at a frequency of 10(-2) to 10(-3) per donor cell. Whereas OCT is incompatible with another degradative plasmid, CAM, factor K appears to be compatible with it.     

Isolation of a hybrid F' factor-carrying Escherichia coli lactose region and Salmonella typhimurium histidine region, F42-400 (F' ts114 lac+, his+): its partial characterization and behavior in Salmonella typhimurium.

Episome F' ts114 lac+ (F42-114) was transferred into Salmonella typhimurium carrying an F'his+ (FS400) episome, and fused episome F' ts114 lac+, his+ (F42-400) was obtained. Episome F42-400 could be transferred to S. typhimurium, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Identification of the episome was based on: (i) temperature sensitivity of the Lac+ and His+ phenotypes; (ii) the fact that F- segregants, obtained after temperature curing or acridine orange curing, were simultaneously Lac- and His-; and (iii) linkage of lac+ with his+ in episomal transfers to E. coli and S. typhimurium. The frequency of episome transfer was influenced by the genotype of the donor. Plasmid LT2, prevalent in S. typhimurium LT2 strains, was suggested to be responsible for the low fertility of S. typhimurium donors. Episome F42-400 was capable of chromosome mobilization, and the extent of chromosome mobilization was not influenced by the presence or absence of the histidine region on the donor chromosome. Growth in a defined medium with acridine orange was able to cure F42-400. The frequency of curing was increased (the frequency of His+ cells was 0.0001%) if the cells were grown at 40 C in the presence of acridine orange. Selection for temperature-resistant Lac+, His+ derivatives in a strain without histidine deletion yielded Hfr strains. However, similar and stronger selections in strains without the chromosomal histidine region failed to yield Hfr strains. Our inability to obtain Hfr's in strains without the chromosomal histidine region was explained by assuming that the episome F42-400 has lost the F sites involved in integration into the S. typhimurium chromosome.     

Isolation of a mutant TOL plasmid with increased activity and transmissibility from Pseudomonas putida (arvilla) mt-2.

Strains with greater ability to dissimilate m-toluate were obtained from the wild-type Pseudomonas putida (arvilla) mt-2 that harbors the TOL plasmid. Increased growth of a mutant strain on aromatic substrates was coupled with simultaneous increase in the activity of metapyrocatechase, an enzyme coded by the TOL plasmid, without changing its catalytic properties. In the mutant and the wild-type strains, the inducer specificity and the induction kinetics of metapyrocatechase synthesis were the same, and a half-maximal effect of m-toluate on the enzyme synthesis was observed at 0.25 mM. Thus, the increased utilizability seen in a mutant strain appeared to be due to an increased quantity of the enzymes coded by the TOL plasmid. The properties of the mutant strain were dependent upon the mutation on the TOL plasmid but not on the chromosome mutation. Transfer experiments with a strain carrying the mutant TOL (TOL-H) or the wild-type TOL plasmid revealed that the TOL-H transfer was 1,000 times greater than that of the wild type.     

Localization of camphor degradative plasmids on the chromosome of Pseudomonas putida strains PaW]

Camphor degradative plasmids (CAM, pRK1) are preferentially situated on chromosomes of Pseudomonas putida strains PaW. After having been transferred into Cam+ strains, the TOL plasmid pWWO dissociates into the cryptic plasmid pWWO-8 and chromosome-borne transposon Tn4651. The opposite situation, i.e. reconstruction of the TOL plasmid pWWO from the cryptic plasmid pWWO-8 and chromosome-borne catabolic operons of the pWWO plasmid has been described. Cam- derivatives of the CAM plasmid were obtained in vivo which contain the TOL plasmid transposons Tn4651 or Tn4652 as obligatory structural elements. These plasmids as well as pWWO-8 determine conjugational mobilization of chromosome-located cam operons followed by their integration into the chromosome of recipient.     

Tetracycline-inducible transfer of tetracycline resistance in Bacteroides fragilis in the absence of detectable plasmid DNA.

Tetracycline resistance of three Bacteroides fragilis strains was shown to be inducible by subinhibitory concentrations of tetracycline. Tetracycline resistance markers could be transferred to another B. fragilis strain by filter mating. The transferability was inducible by subinhibitory concentrations of tetracycline and did not take place in the absence of tetracycline. The optimum concentration of tetracycline for induction of transfer was about 2 microgram/ml. The transfer was shown to be a conjugation-like process requiring cell-to-cell contact between donor and recipient. Screening of parental donor strains for the presence of plasmid DNA did not demonstrate any detectable plasmids in two of the strains. A 3.0-megadalton plasmid, designated pBY5, was present in the third donor strain. Mobilization of pBY5 by another plasmid (pBF4) showed that pBY5 did not carry the genes responsible for tetracycline resistance. It appears that the genes responsible for resistance to tetracycline as well as those responsible for conjugal transfer may be carried on the chromosome in all three donor strains.     

Mobilization of broad host range plasmid from Pseudomonas putida to established biofilm of Bacillus azotoformans. I. Experiments

A strain of Pseudomonas putida harboring plasmids RK2 and pDLB101 was exposed to a pure culture biofilm of Bacillus azotoformans grown in a rotating annular reactor under three different concentrations of the limiting nutrient, succinate. Experimental results demonstrated that the broad host range RSF1010 derivative pDLB101 was transferred to and expressed by B. azotoformans. At the lower concentrations, donor mediated plasmid transfer increased with increasing nutrient levels, but the highest nutrient concentration yielded the lowest rate of donor to recipient plasmid transfer. For transconjugant initiated transfer, the rate of transfer increased with increasing nutrient concentrations for all cases. At the lower nutrient concentrations, the frequency of plasmid transfer was higher between donors and recipients than between transconjugants and recipients. The reverse was true at the highest succinate concentration. The rates and frequencies of plasmid transfer by mobilization were compared to gene exchange by retrotransfer. The initial rate of retrotransfer was slower than mobilization, but then increased dramatically. Retrotransfer produced a plasmid transfer frequency more than an order of magnitude higher than simple mobilization.     

Transfer of chromosomal genes and plasmids in Bacillus thuringiensis

A low frequency of chromosomal gene transfer from Bacillus thuringiensis to Bacillus cereus was detected by cell mating, with a tryptophan marker being the most frequently transferred gene among four that were tested. The process was resistant to DNase and was not mediated by cell filtrates. Among several B. thuringiensis subspecies tested, transfer was best with a derivative of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1, which lost several plasmids. All of the B. cereus recombinants contained at least one plasmid from the donor B. thuringiensis; frequently, it was a plasmid that encoded a protoxin gene. In matings with B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1, a 29-megadalton plasmid that contained a ca. 2.5-kilobase region of homology with the chromosome was always transferred. No detectable transfer of chromosomal genes was found in B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1 strains lacking this plasmid, suggesting that there may be chromosome mobilization.     

Camphor Plasmid-Mediated Chromosomal Transfer in Pseudomonas putida

Camphor-utilizing strains of Pseudomonas putida have been shown to carry the genetic information required for camphor degradation on a plasmid. The plasmid-carrying strains can serve as donors of both plasmid-borne and chromosomal genes. As recipients, plasmid-deleted strains are much superior to those carrying the camphor pathway genes. The transfer frequency of chromosomal, but not plasmid-borne, genes is markedly enhanced if the donor cells are irradiated with ultraviolet light followed by 3-h of growth on a rich medium in the dark. Recombinants selected for prototrophy are stable and most acquire the camphor (CAM) plasmid concomitantly; only a few of the Cam(+) recombinants inherit the donor's ability to transfer chromosomal genes at a high frequency. Transfer-defective mutations occur on the CAM plasmid, affecting both CAM and chromosomal gene transfer.     

Transfer of chromosomal genes and plasmids in Bacillus thuringiensis.

A low frequency of chromosomal gene transfer from Bacillus thuringiensis to Bacillus cereus was detected by cell mating, with a tryptophan marker being the most frequently transferred gene among four that were tested. The process was resistant to DNase and was not mediated by cell filtrates. Among several B. thuringiensis subspecies tested, transfer was best with a derivative of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1, which lost several plasmids. All of the B. cereus recombinants contained at least one plasmid from the donor B. thuringiensis; frequently, it was a plasmid that encoded a protoxin gene. In matings with B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1, a 29-megadalton plasmid that contained a ca. 2.5-kilobase region of homology with the chromosome was always transferred. No detectable transfer of chromosomal genes was found in B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1 strains lacking this plasmid, suggesting that there may be chromosome mobilization.     

Integration of R91-5::Tn501 into the Pseudomonas putida PPN chromosome and genetic circularity of the chromosomal map

Derivatives of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa plasmid R91-5, loaded with the transposon Tn501, were transferred to P. putida PPN. Over 90% of exconjugants, which arose at a frequency of ca. 10(-6) per donor cell, exhibited high-frequency (greater than 10(-2) per donor cell) polarized transfer of chromosomal markers. In one instance it was demonstrated by transduction that the plasmid had been inserted into a gene required for serine biosynthesis. The integrated nature of the plasmid in this and other P. putida (R91-5::Tn501) derivatives was supported by the failure to detect covalently closed circular DNA in these strains. The transfer origins of six different Hfr donors have been characterized genetically, and time-of-entry kinetics obtained from interrupted matings have enabled the construction of a circular genetic map 103 min in length and containing 35 markers. The genetic map of P. putida PPN shows significant differences in marker order to that of P. aeruginosa PAO.     

Prime plasmids derived from the IncP-10 plasmid R91-5 in Pseudomonas putida

Abstract Plasmid primes carrying various fragments of Pseudomonas putida chromosome have been derived from pMO22, a derivative of R91-5 loaded with Tn 501 . These prime plasmids transfer efficiently to P. aeruginosa where they effectively complement various auxotrophic markers. Proof of prime plasmid formation has been provided by the high-frequency transfer of plasmid and chromosomal markers, the unselected cotransfer of either plasmid or chromosomal markers into P. aeruginosa and by transformation of both plasmid and chromosomal markers using prime plasmid DNA. Such prime plasmids have been used to map the location of new markers on the P. putida chromosome.     

The TOL plasmid is naturally derepressed for transfer

Pseudomonas putida mt-2, formerly known as Pseudomonas arvilla mt-2, which carries the wild-type TOL plasmid, and P. putida strain AC37 carrying TOL, were completely lysed by the pilus-adsorbing plasmid-specific bacteriophages PR4 and PRD1. Pseudomonas putida strain PpS388, also harbouring the plasmid, was not lysed. In a P. putida mt-2 host, TOL transferred 18-fold better on a surface (2.5 X 10(-1) transconjugants per donor h-1) than in liquid; when P. putida PpS388 was the host, however, a frequency of only 2.3 X 10(-4) transconjugants per donor h-1 was obtained. Thus, TOL was derepressed for transfer in P. putida mt-2 and P. putida AC37, but not in P. putida PpS388. Electron microscopy revealed that TOL determined thick (8.5-10 nm diameter) flexible pili in large numbers, suggesting constitutive expression in its derepressed state.     

Isolation of the R'his plasmids of Vibrio cholerae

V. cholerae strain VT5104 capable of donor activity in conjugation has been constructed by the genetic technique based on plasmid RP4::Mucts62 integration into V. cholerae chromosome due to plasmid homology with Mucts62 inserted into the chromosome. The gene for histidine synthesis has been mobilized and transferred into the recipient cells from VT5104 donor. The conjugants obtained are able to efficiently transfer his+ gene included into the plasmid structure in conjugation with eltor recipient. Thus, the constructed strain VT5104 generates R' plasmids carrying V. cholerae chromosomal genes.     

Chromosomal location of TOL plasmid DNA in Pseudomonas putida.

The soil isolate Pseudomonas putida MW1000 can grow on toluene and other hydrocarbons; in this respect it is similar to strains of Pseudomonas which carry the TOL plasmid. By conjugation experiments, the genes conferring these growth abilities have been shown to be located on the bacterial chromosome, linked to vil and catB. A 56-kilobase segment of the bacterial chromosome of MW strains carrying the TOL genes can transpose to the IncP-1 plasmid R18-18. Physical analysis of these TOL R18-18 hybrids has shown that the TOL segment is almost identical to the same region found in the TOL plasmid pWW0.     

Conjugational transfer of recombinant DNA in cultures and in soils: host range of Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmids.

Recombinant TOL plasmid pWWO-EB62 allows Pseudomonas putida to grow on p-ethylbenzoate. This plasmid can be transferred to other microorganisms, and its catabolic functions for the metabolism of alkylbenzoates are expressed in a limited number of gram-negative bacteria, including members of pseudomonad rRNA group I and Escherichia coli. Transfer of the recombinant plasmid to Erwinia chrysanthemi was observed, but transconjugants failed to grow on alkylbenzoates because they lost catabolic functions. Pseudomonads belonging to rRNA groups II, III, and IV, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Alcaligenes sp. could not act as recipients for TOL, either because the plasmid was not transferred or because it was not stably maintained. The frequency of transfer of pWWO-EB62 from P. putida as a donor to pseudomonads belonging to rRNA group I was on the order of 1 to 10(-2) transconjugant per recipient, while the frequency of intergeneric transfer ranged from 10(-3) to 10(-7) transconjugant per recipient. The profile of potential hosts was conserved when the donor bacterium was Escherichia coli or Erwinia chrysanthemi instead of P. putida. No intergeneric gene transfer of the recombinant TOL plasmid was observed in soils; however, intraspecies transfer did take place. Intraspecies transfer of TOL in soils was affected by the type of soil used, the initial inoculum size, and the presence of chemicals that could affect the survival of the donor or recipient bacteria.     

Conjugational transfer of recombinant DNA in cultures and in soils: host range of Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmids.

Recombinant TOL plasmid pWWO-EB62 allows Pseudomonas putida to grow on p-ethylbenzoate. This plasmid can be transferred to other microorganisms, and its catabolic functions for the metabolism of alkylbenzoates are expressed in a limited number of gram-negative bacteria, including members of pseudomonad rRNA group I and Escherichia coli. Transfer of the recombinant plasmid to Erwinia chrysanthemi was observed, but transconjugants failed to grow on alkylbenzoates because they lost catabolic functions. Pseudomonads belonging to rRNA groups II, III, and IV, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Alcaligenes sp. could not act as recipients for TOL, either because the plasmid was not transferred or because it was not stably maintained. The frequency of transfer of pWWO-EB62 from P. putida as a donor to pseudomonads belonging to rRNA group I was on the order of 1 to 10(-2) transconjugant per recipient, while the frequency of intergeneric transfer ranged from 10(-3) to 10(-7) transconjugant per recipient. The profile of potential hosts was conserved when the donor bacterium was Escherichia coli or Erwinia chrysanthemi instead of P. putida. No intergeneric gene transfer of the recombinant TOL plasmid was observed in soils; however, intraspecies transfer did take place. Intraspecies transfer of TOL in soils was affected by the type of soil used, the initial inoculum size, and the presence of chemicals that could affect the survival of the donor or recipient bacteria.     

Fertility properties and regulation of antimicrobial substance production by plasmid SCP2 of Streptomyces coelicolor.

Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) possesses two plasmids (SCP1 and SCP2) that act as sex factors. The plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from S. coelicolor A3(2) SCP1- strains A617 and A585 had the same molecular weight and endonuclease cleavage pattern as the SCP2 plasmid. The plasmidless strain S18 SCP2- was isolated from the A617 X A585 cross. SCP2 plasmid-containing strains acted as donors of chromosomal markers, whereas the plasmidless strain acted as recipient. The transfer of SCP2+ donor strain markers into the SCP2- recipient occurred at high frequencies (approximately 75%), was unidirectional, was initiated from a fixed region of the chromosome, and had the SCP2 fertility factor transferred first. The introduction of the SCP2 plasmid into a recipient strain greatly reduced the recombination frequency. These fertility properties differed from those previously reported, thereby suggesting that the SCP2 plasmid examined in this investigation may be an additional variant to those described in the literature. The SCP2 plasmid also regulated production of three antibacterial substances and conveyed resistance for S. coelicolor A3(2) strains against growth inhibition by one of them.     

Intergeneric conjugation in Streptomyces peucetius and Streptomyces sp. strain C5: chromosomal integration and expression of recombinant plasmids carrying the chiC gene

Intergeneric conjugal transfer of plasmid DNA from Escherichia coli to Streptomyces circumvents problems such as host-controlled restriction and instability of foreign DNA during the transformation of Streptomyces protoplasts. The anthracycline antibiotic-producing strains Streptomyces peucetius and Streptomyces sp. strain C5 were transformed using E. coli ET12567(pUZ8002) as a conjugal donor. When this donor species, carrying pSET152, was mated with Streptomyces strains, the resident plasmid was mobilized to the recipient and the transferred DNA was also integrated into the recipient chromosome. Analysis of the exconjugants showed stable integration of the plasmid at a single chromosomal site (attB) of the Streptomyces genome. The DNA sequence of the chromosomal integration site was determined and shown to be conserved. However, the core sequence, where the crossover presumably occurred in C5 and S. peucetius, is TTC. These results also showed that the phiC31 integrative recombination is active and the phage attP site is functional in S. peucetius as well as in C5. The efficiency and specificity of phiC31-mediated site-specific integration of the plasmid in the presence of a 3.7-kb homologous DNA sequence indicates that integrative recombination is preferred under these conditions. The integration of plasmid DNA did not affect antibiotic biosynthesis or biosynthesis of essential amino acids. Integration of a single copy of a mutant chiC into the wild-type S. peucetius chromosome led to the production of 30-fold more chitinase.