Recombination and the Escherichia coli K-12 sex factor F.

Recombination between two Flac tra minus elements to give Flac tra plus recombinants was measured in Rec plus and Rec minus strains of Escherichia coli K-12. Polar tra mutations were used to increase the proportion of tra plus recombinants among the parental Flac tra minus elements transferred by complementation. The kinetics, measured in a rec plus strain, showed that recombination began about 1 h after the initiation of mating and was completed about 1 h later. Recombination was abolished in a recA minus strain, reduced by two-thirds in a recF minus strain, and unaffected in recB minus and recC minus strains. It is proposed that the part not due to the RecF pathway results from a RecBC- and RecF-independent system for formation of single-stranded joins. One such join could be followed either by transfer and a site-specific recombination event, or by a second single-stranded join and then transfer: in either case replication and inheritance of the recombinant molecule would be dependent upon the F transfer replication system. Chromosome mobilization by an F' element was normal in a recB plus recF minus strain, and was reduced only fourfold in a recB minus recF plus strain: in the latter strain, both the RecF pathway and the system for single-stranded joins may have contributed to mobilization. Measurement of post-conjugational chromosomal recombination in exponential-phase recipient cells carrying surface exclusion-deficient Flac mutants indicated that F does not itself determine a generalized recombination system able to replace the RecA plus product or the RecBC and RecF pathways.     

The distance between Escherichia coli genes is related to gene expression levels.

It is shown that the distance between Escherichia coli genes oriented in the same direction on the chromosome is positively correlated to the expression level of the downstream gene. It is suggested that this could be a strategy to avoid interference between ribosomes translating two different genes.     

New approaches to increase the expression and stability of cloned foreign genes in Escherichia coli.

A family of expression plasmid vectors were constructed by fusing the strong P2 promoter of the rrnB gene of Escherichia coli (coding for ribosomal RNA) to the lac operator, thereby eliminating regulatory sequences from the rrnB gene and placing the expression under lac repressor control. This promoter proved to be stronger in vivo than the well-known consensus tac promoter, and its strength could be further increased by converting the sequence to consensus. The stability of the recombinant proteins could be increased by fusion to various lengths of the N-terminal end of beta-galactosidase, or by inserting a synthetic oligonucleotide, coding for heptathreonine. A new method was developed for the stabilization of recombinant plasmids without antibiotic selection, based on the presence of an essential gene on the plasmid and its absence from the chromosome. The application of this method is illustrated by the example of a plasmid expressing human proinsulin.     

cis-Dominant, transfer-deficient mutants of the Escherichia coli K-12 F sex factor.

Rare conjugational progeny formed by crossing each of five Hfr strains with a recA-F- strain have been characterized. Selection was made for a proximal Hfr marker, taking strict precautions to prevent transfer of recA+ to the zygotes. Most of the progeny were found to be F' strains containing deletion mutant plasmids. With two exceptions, these mutant plasmids have lost all of the tra genes, which are required to confer conjugational donor ability upon a host. In addition, all but the exceptional mutant plasmids were found to be very poorly transmissible from transient heterozygotes which also contain a wild-type F' plasmid. The poor transmissibility is a cis-dominant transfer-defective phenotype which may result from deletion of all or part of the origin of transfer replication (ori), or of a gene determining a cis-acting protein. The two exceptional mutant plasmids may carry short deletions of some of the tra genes or polar tra mutations. The remaining progeny were nonmutant F' strains and F- strains. The frequency with which the F- strains were recovered permits us to estimate that the maximum amount of recombination possible in a recA56 zygote is 10(-6) that of a recA+ zygote.     

Cloning and expression of bacterial ice nucleation genes in Escherichia coli.

Epiphytic populations of Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia herbicola are important sources of ice nuclei that incite frost damage in agricultural crop plants. We have cloned and characterized DNA segments carrying the genes (ice) responsible for the ice-nucleating ability of these bacteria. The ice region spanned 3.5 to 4.0 kilobases and was continuous over this region in P. syringae Cit7R1. The cloned fragments imparted ice-nucleating activity in Escherichia coli. Substantial increases in the nucleating activity of both E. coli and P. syringae were obtained by subcloning the DNA fragments on multicopy plasmid vectors. Southern blot analysis showed substantial homology between the ice regions of P. syringae and E. herbicola, although individual restriction sites within the ice regions differed between the two species.     

Replication of the F''lac sex factor in the cell cycle of Escherichia coli

Summary The timing of replication of an F'lac during the cell cycle of Escherichia coli B/r has been investigated at different growth rates to clarify the relationship of F factor replication to cell division and the replication of the bacterial chromosome.Cells of a lacZ — strain carrying an F'lac were separated according to their ages in an exponentially growing population after the culture was pulse labelled with a radioactive precursor of DNA and pulse induced for the synthesis of -galactosidase. The amount of label incorporated at different cell ages reflects the state of replication of the bacteriial chromosome, while the amount of enzyme synthesized in response to a short period of induction is assumed to reflect the state of replication of the F'lac.The F'lac replicates at a time somewhat more than half way through the cell cycle at all growth rates investigated. This time is clearly distinguishable from the time of initiation of chromosomal replication at some of the growth rates studied, implying the existence of at least some different control elements in the replication of these two replicons.The regulation of F'lac replication has been further studied by following F'lac replication in temperature sensitive mutants, which are defective in the initiation of chromosomal replication at elevated temperatures.     

Nucleotide sequence of the traD region in the Escherichia coli F sex factor

The complete nucleotide sequence has been determined of a 3635-bp region, extending from the HpaI site in traT, at F coordinate 90.3 kb, to beyond the end of traD, of the F sex factor plasmid of Escherichia coli K-12. This region contains the C-terminal coding part of traT and the entire traD gene. An open reading frame (ORF) of 2148 bp within the sequence confirms that traD encodes an 81.4-kDa cytoplasmic membrane protein. The TraD protein has several regions with an unusually high pI (greater than 10), suggesting that they may correspond to the DNA-binding domains. Several other ORFs were detected within the region including the gene (ORF1) for a 26.3-kDa protein and ORF2, probably corresponding to traI, which continues to the end of the sequence. An ORF for an 8.5-kDa protein preceded by an excellent promoter and ribosome-binding site is present in the region following traD but on the opposite strand. This promoter is thought to correspond to the major RNA polymerase binding site in this region, implying that traI does not have its own promoter. The lack of a typical terminator following traD and ORF1 and the translational coupling provided by overlapping stop and start codons is consistent with this conclusion.     

Thiol-sensitive genes of Escherichia coli.

The effect of 1-thioglycerol on the expression of genes of Escherichia coli was investigated. Pulse-labeled proteins from aerobically growing, 1-thioglycerol-treated E. coli were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and their radioactivities were compared with those of identical proteins from nontreated cells. The first 10 min of exposure to thiol stimulated the synthesis of 10% of the observed proteins and inhibited the production of 16% of the proteins. After 30 min of growth with thiol, the synthesis of 44% of the observed proteins was inhibited and synthesis of 18% of the proteins was stimulated. In general, the expression of genes of carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and protein biosynthesis were inhibited, while nucleic acid synthetic and repair gene expressions showed mixed responses. Synthesis of transport proteins was not affected. Transient stimulation of oxidative-stress proteins and sustained stimulation of the expressions of trxB, ompA, and ompB genes and those of several unidentified gene products were also observed. Whether these complex responses merely reflect adjustments by cellular subsystems to a suddenly reducing environment or whether they are manifestations of a reductive-stress regulon will have to await genetic analysis of this phenomenon.     

Suppression of initiation-negative strains of Escherichia coli by integration of the sex factor F.

Data are presented suggesting that the most critical factor determining whether an Hfr dnaAts strain can synthesize deoxyribonucleic acid and form colonies at temperatures that are nonpermissive for corresponding F- strains is neither the site of insertion of F nor the presence of additional mutations in the F particle or the chromosome; it is whether the particle is capable of autonomous replication at the temperature used. Consequently, suppression of the DnaA phenotype in Hfr strains occurs at 40 C but not, in most of them, at 42 C without the occurrence of additional mutations. The site of insertion of F may also be important since it is shown that in one Hfr dnaA strain partial suppression does occur at 42 C. In addition, it is shown that strains exhibiting suppression by integration of F at 40 C on minimal agar plates do not do so at this temperature on nutrient agar plates.     

High-level expression of human insulin-like growth factor II in Escherichia coli.

A gene encoding mature human insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) was constructed from the modified IGF-II cDNA sequence and two double-stranded synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide linkers. It was fused to a truncated lacZ gene such that IGF-II was expressed as part of C-terminus of beta-galactosidase. This fused lacZ'-IGF-II gene was under the control of tac promoter and we overproduced the beta-galactosidase-IGF-II fusion protein in the Escherichia coli. The fusion protein formed inclusion bodies inside the cells. The fusion protein was purified from the isolated inclusion bodies and IGF-II protein was obtained from their fusion protein by CNBr cleavage. The released IGF-II was confirmed by its molecular weight as determined by SDS-PAGE and by its ability to bind anti-IGF antibody.     

Ligation-independent cloning of glutathione S-transferase fusion genes for expression in Escherichia coli.

A plasmid vector has been constructed that allows the ligation-independent cloning of cDNAs in any reading frame and directs their synthesis in Escherichia coli as glutathione S-transferase-linked fusion proteins. The cloning procedure does not require restriction enzyme digestion of the target sequence and does not introduce any additional sequences between the thrombin cleavage site and the foreign protein. Extended single-stranded tails complementary between the vector and insert, generated by the (3'----5') exonuclease activity of T4 DNA polymerase, obviate the need for in vitro ligation prior to bacterial transformation. This cloning procedure is rapid and highly efficient, and has been used successfully to construct a series of fusion proteins to investigate the sequence requirements for efficient thrombin cleavage.     

Coordinate expression of Escherichia coli dnaA and dnaN genes

Summary The defects of temperature-sensitive dnaA and dnaN mutants of Escherichia coli are complemented by a recombinant lambda phage, which carries the bacterial DNA segment composed of two EcoRI segments of 1.0 and 3.3 kilobases. Derivatives of the phage, which have an insertion segment of Tn3 in the dnaA gene, are much less active in expressing the dnaN gene function than the parent phage. The dnaN gene activity was determined as the efficiency of superinfecting phage to suppress loss of the viability of lysogenic dnaN59 cells at the nonpermissive temperature. Deletions that include the end of the dnaA gene distal to the dnaN gene also reduce the expression of the dnaN gene fuction. Deletion and insertion in the dnaN gene do not affect the expression of the dnaA gene function. The expression of the dnaN gene function by the dnaA ^- dnaN ⁺ phages remains weak upon simultaneous infection with dnaA ⁺ dnaN ^- phages. Thus the insertion and deletion in the dnaA gene influence in cis the expression of the dnaN gene. We propose that the dnaA and dnaN genes constitute an operon, where the former is upstream to the latter.