Essential structure in the cloned transforming DNA that induces gene amplification of the Bacillus subtilis amyE-tmrB region.

Bacillus subtilis B7, a mutant which acquired gene amplification of the amyE-tmrB region, showed, as a result, hyperproductivity (about a 5- to 10-fold increase) of alpha-amylase and tunicamycin resistance. The mutational character was transferred to recipient cells by competence transformation. A 14-kilobase (kb) EcoRI chromosomal DNA fragment of strain B7 was found to have the transforming activity. We cloned a 6.4-kb EcoRI fragment on a phage vector lambda Charon 4A through a spontaneous deletion of 7.6 kb from the 14-kb fragment and subcloned a 1.6-kb HindIII fragment on pGR71. The cloned 6.4-kb EcoRI and 1.6-kb HindIII fragments retained the transforming activity of inducing gene amplification of the amyE-tmrB region. At the junction point (J) of the repeating units (16 kb), the tmrB gene was linked to a DNA region (M) located 4 kb upstream of amyE. The essential structure of the cloned, transforming (gene amplification-inducing) DNA was deduced to be that around J. The subcloned 1.6-kb HindIII fragment that retained the transforming activity was shown to be almost solely composed of the tmrB-J-M region. In addition, the DNA sequence around J was determined.     

Molecular cloning of a tetracycline-resistance determinant from Bacillus subtilis chromosomal DNA and its expression in Escherichia coli and B. subtilis

Bacillus subtilis GSY908 DNA fragments (5.1 and 4.4 kilobase pairs (kb)) containing a tetracycline-resistance determinant were cloned in Escherichia coli using a shuttle plasmid vector pLS353. Restriction endonucelase analysis showed that the 4.4 kb fragment is a spontaneous deletion derivative of the 5.1 kb fragment. E. coli tetracycline-resistance transformants carrying pLS353 with the 5.1 kb fragment (named pTBS1) and that with 4.4 kb fragment (pTBS1.1) could grow at tetracycline concentrations up to 80 and 50 micrograms per ml, respectively. B. subtilis MI112 and RM125 were transformed by pTBS1, resulting in isolation of transformants of MI112 maintaining pTBS1 and RM125 maintaining either pTBS1 or pTBS1.1. Maximum tetracycline concentrations permitting growth of plasmidless MI112 and MI112 with pTBS1 were 4 and 10 micrograms per ml, respectively, while those of plasmidless RM125, RM125 with pTBS1 and RM125 with pTBS1.1 were 7, 50 and 80 micrograms per ml, respectively. It was interesting to note that the tetracycline-resistance level in E. coli conferred by the 5.1 kb fragment is higher than that conferred by the 4.4 kb fragment, but in B. subtilis the 4.4 kb fragment, in contrast, confers a higher level of tetracycline resistance. The level of tetracycline resistance in B. subtilis conferred by the cloned determinant clearly depends on the host strain. The tetracycline resistance conferred by the cloned determinant was associated with decreased accumulation of the drug into the cells. However, it was constitutive in E. coli, but inducible in B. subtilis. The cloned tetracycline-resistance determinant was detected specifically on the chromosome of B. subtilis Marburg 168 derivatives.     

Amplification and deletion of the amyE+-tmrB+ gene region in a Bacillus subtilis recombinant-phage genome by the tmrA7 mutation.

A 22.4-kilobase DNA fragment containing the tmrA7-amyR2-amyE+-tmrB+-aroI+ region of the Bacillus subtilis N7 chromosomal DNA was cloned into a recombinant B. subtilis bacteriophage, p11-AA248. The amyE+-tmrB+ gene region, approximately 12.6 kilobases, in the phage genome was amplified in a tunicamycin-resistant (Tmr) Amy+ AroI+ transductant of B. subtilis by p11-AA248. On the other hand, the amyE+-tmrB+ region in the genomes of 80 to 90% of the phage particles was deleted when the phages were induced from the Tmr Amy+ AroI+ transductants by treatment with 1.0 micrograms of mitomycin C per ml. From analyses of the physical maps and DNA nucleotide sequences in the junction region of the deleted phage genome and the parental DNA fragments, it is suggested that the deletion occurred within a direct repeat sequence composed of 18 base pairs. The endpoints of the amplified gene region seemed to be closely related to both terminal regions of the deleted DNA.     

Characterization of a rat tRNA gene cluster containing the genes for tRNAAsp, tRNAGly and tRNAGlu, and pseudogenes.

The putative genes for tRNAGAUAsp(C), tRNAGGAGly(G) and tRNAGAGGlu are in a cluster on the rat chromosome and are present exclusively in a 3.3 kb region cleaved with a restriction endonuclease EcoRI. The cluster reiterates about 10 times on the haploid DNA. Four lambda clones each containing an independent repeating unit were isolated from a rat gene library. The studies on the cloned DNA revealed that the length of the repeating unit including the 3.3 kb EcoRI fragment was at least 13.5 kb. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 3.3 kb DNA in the isolated clones showed sequence variations among the repeating units and incomplete genes for tRNAGly and tRNAGlu within the clusters.     

Molecular cloning of a gene affecting the autolysin level and flagellation in Bacillus subtilis

A 2.8 kb PstI fragment of Bacillus subtilis 168W DNA has been cloned into Escherichia coli HB101 and B. subtilis AG5 using pAC3 as a shuttle plasmid. The new plasmid (pBRG1), of 10.2 kb, complemented flaD mutations which show reduced production of autolysin(s), filamentation and non-motility (deficiency of flagella). Deletion experiments showed that the suppressive gene is located between the HindIII and XbaI sites (1.0 kb apart) in pBRG1. The integration of a plasmid having chloramphenicol resistance closely linked to the flaD gene into the B. subtilis AC703 chromosome and its genetic analysis indicated that the cloned fragment contained the flaD gene itself. A high-copy-number plasmid carrying the cloned gene did not lead to an increase in autolysin production above the wild-type level, but it changed the colony morphology from smooth to rough. Among several autolysin-deficient mutations, lyt-151 was suppressed only by the high-copy-number plasmid carrying the cloned gene.     

Isolation and molecular genetic characterization of the Bacillus subtilis gene (infB) encoding protein synthesis initiation factor 2.

Western blot (immunoblot) analysis of Bacillus subtilis cell extracts detected two proteins that cross-reacted with monospecific polyclonal antibody raised against Escherichia coli initiation factor 2 alpha (IF2 alpha). Subsequent Southern blot analysis of B. subtilis genomic DNA identified a 1.3-kilobase (kb) HindIII fragment which cross-hybridized with both E. coli and Bacillus stearothermophilus IF2 gene probes. This DNA was cloned from a size-selected B. subtilis plasmid library. The cloned HindIII fragment, which was shown by DNA sequence analysis to encode the N-terminal half of the B. subtilis IF2 protein and 0.2 kb of upstream flanking sequence, was utilized as a homologous probe to clone an overlapping 2.76-kb ClaI chromosomal fragment containing the entire IF2 structural gene. The HindIII fragment was also used as a probe to obtain overlapping clones from a lambda gt11 library which contained additional upstream and downstream flanking sequences. Sequence comparisons between the B. subtilis IF2 gene and the other bacterial homologs from E. coli, B. stearothermophilus, and Streptococcus faecium displayed extensive nucleic acid and protein sequence homologies. The B. subtilis infB gene encodes two proteins, IF2 alpha (78.6 kilodaltons) and IF2 beta (68.2 kilodaltons); both were expressed in B. subtilis and E. coli. These two proteins cross-reacted with antiserum to E. coli IF2 alpha and were able to complement in vivo an E. coli infB gene disruption. Four-factor recombination analysis positioned the infB gene at 145 degrees on the B. subtilis chromosome, between the polC and spcB loci. This location is distinct from those of the other major ribosomal protein and rRNA gene clusters of B. subtilis.     

Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase of Bacillus subtilis. Cloning, characterization and chromosomal mapping of the prs gene

The gene (prs) encoding phosphoribosylpyrophosphate (PRPP) synthetase has been cloned from a library of Bacillus subtilis DNA by complementation of an Escherichia coli prs mutation. Flanking DNA sequences were pruned away by restriction endonuclease and exonuclease BAL 31 digestions, resulting in a DNA fragment of approx. 1.8 kb complementing the E. coli prs mutation. Minicell experiments revealed that this DNA fragment coded for a polypeptide, shown to be the PRPP synthetase subunit, with an Mr of approx. 40,000. B. subtilis strains harbouring the prs gene in a multicopy plasmid contained up to nine-fold increased PRPP synthetase activity. The prs gene was cloned in an integration vector and the resulting hybrid plasmid inserted into the B. subtilis chromosome by homologous recombination. The integration site was mapped by transduction and the gene order established as purA-guaA-prs-cysA.     

Gene amplification induces mucoid phenotype in rec-2 Pseudomonas aeruginosa exposed to kanamycin.

Gene amplification in the chromosome of rec-2 Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO2003 upon growth on kanamycin-supplemented media led to a stable mucoid phenotype. The chromosomal region controlling alginate biosynthesis was shown to be amplified four to six times as a direct tandem repeat of at least 16.8 kilobase pairs. This amplification was deduced from Southern DNA-DNA hybridization patterns of the chromosomal DNA digested with restriction endonucleases BglII and EcoRI and probed with a cloned DNA segment complementing the alg-22 mutation. The part of the amplified unit carrying the novel DNA joint was cloned. The EcoRI junction fragment was further subcloned and used to probe chromosomes of parental strain PAO2003 and mucoid variant VD2003M. As predicted, the EcoRI junction fragment hybridized to the two chromosomal fragments required to produce the novel junction. Though the mucoid phenotype caused by gene amplification was stable, nonmucoid revertants were obtained at a low frequency on tetracycline-containing media. Southern hybridization of chromosomal DNA from a nonmucoid revertant revealed a reduction in the copy number of amplified DNA. These results suggest a direct relationship between amplification of this chromosomal segment and the induction of mucoidy.     

The normal replication terminus of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome, terC, is dispensable for vegetative growth and sporulation

The Bacillus subtilis strains CU1693, CU1694 and CU1695 were shown by hybridization analysis to carry large deletions of the terminus region that originated within discrete fragments of the SP beta prophage genome. The absence of terC in CU1693 was demonstrated definitively by the identification of a novel junction fragment comprising SP beta DNA and DNA that lies on the other side of terC in the parent strain. This represented the deletion of approximately 230 kb of CU1693 DNA, with the removal of approximately 150 kb to the left of terC and approximately 80 kb to the right of terC. The lack of hybridization of CU1694 and CU1695 DNA to cloned DNA carrying the terC sequence and to cloned DNAs flanking terC suggested that terC is absent from the chromosome of each of these strains also, and that the deletions in CU1694 and CU1695 extend beyond the segment of the terminus region that has been mapped and cloned. The normal growth rate and morphology of CU1693, CU1694 and CU1695 relative to the parent strain when grown in complex medium indicated dispensability of terC for vegetative growth and division. B. subtilis SU153 was constructed using a specific deletion-insertion vector that was designed to effect the deletion of 11.2kb of DNA spanning terC, with the removal of approximately 9.7kb to the left of terC and approximately 1.kb to the right of terC. This manipulation did not introduce any readily detectable auxotrophic requirement. Physiological characterization of SU153 confirmed the dispensability of terC for vegetative growth and cell division, and also established the lack of requirement of terC for the specialized cell division that is associated with formation of the bacterial endospore.     

枯草杆菌表达载体pUB23的构建及地衣杆菌α-淀粉酶基因的表达

将克隆的解淀粉芽胞杆菌强启动子经DNA序列分析后连接到能在枯草杆菌中复制的质粒pUB18上,构建枯草杆菌表达载体pUB23。为了测试构建的表达载体能否表达外源基因,将地衣杆菌抉失了启动子的α-淀粉酶基因接到pUB23上启动子的下游,组建重组质粒,转化枯草杆菌QB1130(amy~-),获得能分泌α-淀粉酶的转化株,证明缺失了启动子的结构基因在pUB23上克隆启动子的启动下获得表达。酶活力测定结果表明,表达水平是用原启动子时的2.5倍.     

Cloning of the glycerol kinase gene of Bacillus subtilis

A 3.5 kb fragment of Bacillus subtilis DNA which contains wild type alleles of mutations in glpK (glycerol kinase) and glpD (glycerol-3-phosphate [G3P] dehydrogenase) was cloned in plasmid pHV32 in Escherichia coli. The cloned fragment expresses glycerol kinase in B. subtilis mutants carrying the mutations glpK11 and recE4 after induction with glycerol or G3P whereas it does not express G3P dehydrogenase. The cloned fragment thus contains the complete glpK but probably only part of glpD.     

Cloning of the Bacillus subtilis DLG beta-1,4-glucanase gene and its expression in Escherichia coli and B. subtilis.

The gene encoding beta-1,4-glucanase in Bacillus subtilis DLG was cloned into both Escherichia coli C600SF8 and B. subtilis PSL1, which does not naturally produce beta-1,4-glucanase, with the shuttle vector pPL1202. This enzyme is capable of degrading both carboxymethyl cellulose and trinitrophenyl carboxymethyl cellulose, but not more crystalline cellulosic substrates (L. M. Robson and G. H. Chambliss, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 47:1039-1046, 1984). The beta-1,4-glucanase gene was localized to a 2-kilobase (kb) EcoRI-HindIII fragment contained within a 3-kb EcoRI chromosomal DNA fragment of B. subtilis DLG. Recombinant plasmids pLG4000, pLG4001a, pLG4001b, and pLG4002, carrying this 2-kb DNA fragment, were stably maintained in both hosts, and the beta-1,4-glucanase gene was expressed in both. The 3-kb EcoRI fragment apparently contained the beta-1,4-glucanase gene promoter, since transformed strains of B. subtilis PSL1 produced the enzyme in the same temporal fashion as the natural host B. subtilis DLG. B. subtilis DLG produced a 35,200-dalton exocellular beta-1,4-glucanase; intracellular beta-1,4-glucanase was undetectable. E. coli C600SF8 transformants carrying any of the four recombinant plasmids produced two active forms of beta-1,4-glucanase, an intracellular form (51,000 +/- 900 daltons) and a cell-associated form (39,000 +/- 400 daltons). Free exocellular enzyme was negligible. In contrast, B. subtilis PSL1 transformed with recombinant plasmid pLG4001b produced three distinct sizes of active exocellular beta-1,4-glucanase: approximately 36,000, approximately 35,200, and approximately 33,500 daltons. Additionally, B. subtilis PSL1(pLG4001b) transformants contained a small amount (5% or less) of active intracellular beta-1,4-glucanase of three distinct sizes: approximately 50,500, approximately 38,500 and approximately 36,000 daltons. The largest form of beta-1,4-glucanase seen in both transformants may be the primary, unprocessed translation product of the gene.     

Construction of a Bacillus subtilis cloning vehicle with heterologous DNA sequence

A cloning vehicle, pFTB91, for the Bacillus subtilis host was constructed with DNA fragments heterologous to the host chromosome. It consists of three DNA fragments: (i) chromosomal DNA of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens which complements the leuA and ilvC mutations in B. subtilis; (ii) a B. amyloliquefaciens plasmid DNA that supplies an autonomously replicating function; and (iii) a HindIII fragment of Staphylococcus aureus plasmid pTP5 that carries gene tetr, conferring the TetR phenotype. It has sufficiently low DNA homology to prevent its integration into the host chromosome in recombination-competent cells of B. subtilis. It is 9.3 kb, and approx. 10 copies are present per chromosome. The SalI and KpnI sites in the ilvC+ and tetr genes, respectively, could be used for selection of recombinant plasmids by insertional inactivation. The plasmid has unique sites for EcoRI, PstI, and XbaI.     

Structural Analysis of an Extracellular Polysaccharide of Porodisculus pendulus

The aroL gene, encoding shikimate kinase of Brevibacterium lactofermentum, a coryneform glutamic acid-producing bacterium, was cloned. Recombinant plasmids containing the aroL gene caused elevated levels of shikimate kinase synthesis in B. lactofermentum. It was found that in addition to the aroL gene, the aroB and aroE genes, encoding dehydroquinate synthase and shikimate dehydrogenase, respectively, also existed on these recombinant plasmids, in complementation tests with various Escherichia coli and B. lactofermentum aromatic amino acid auxotrophs. The aroL, aroB and aroE genes of B. lactofermentum are located closely on the cloned DNA fragment, in that order. It was shown that at least these three aro genes form a cluster on the chromosome of B. lactofermentum.     

地中海拟无枝菌酸菌U-32硝酸还原酶的基因克隆

Southern杂交分析表明在地中海拟无枝菌酸菌U-32染色体DNA和黑曲霉niaD(硝酸还原酶基因)之间存在着明显的同源性。利用异源niaD探针从地中海拟无枝菌酸菌U-32基因文库中筛选得到一个能与niaD杂交的5.0kb的PstⅠ片段。该片段经同位素标记后能与地中海拟无枝菌酸菌U-32染色体上一个相同的PstⅠ片段杂交,位于这一片段上的2.1kb SmaⅠ-EcoR Ⅴ片段只能与以硝酸盐为唯一氮源的总RNA杂交,而不能与相同条件下以铵盐为唯一氮源的总RNA杂交,这些结果表明,所克隆到的5.0kb PstⅠDNA片段含有地中海拟无枝菌酸菌U-32的硝酸还原酶基因。这是好氧细菌硝酸还原酶基因克隆的首次报道。由该酶蛋白分子量推测,其结构基因大小在1.5kb左右,进一步的杂交分析发现在5.0kb的PstⅠ片段中含有完整的NR基因。用20种限制酶对重组质粒pJL1进行了限制酶酶谱的构建,发现有10种酶在pJL1外源片段上无切点,6种酶为单切点,EcoRⅠ与SmaⅠ各有两个切点。