Nucleotide sequence of the tmr locus of Agrobacterium tumefaciens pTi T37 T-DNA.

The nucleotide sequence of the tmr locus from the nopaline-type pTi T37 plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens was determined. Examination of this sequence allowed us to identify an open reading frame of 720 nucleotides capable of encoding a protein with a derived molecular weight of 27025 d. Comparison of the pTi T37 tmr sequence with the published sequence of the pTi Ach5 tmr locus shows over 88% homology in the 240 bases 5' to the translational initiation codon and over 91% homology in the coding sequences. The 3' nontranslated regions show less than 50% homology as expected for the 3' regions of divergent related genes. The possible significance of areas of conserved sequences, particularly in the 5' regulatory regions, is discussed.     

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the tzs gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain T37.

The trans-zeatin secretion locus (tzs), from the nopaline Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain T37, was cloned and the nucleotide sequence determined. This gene is located in the virulence region of pTiT37. The tzs gene is responsible for the secretion of trans-zeatin into bacterial culture medium and in addition has the cytokinin biosynthetic activity, dimethylallylpyrophosphate:AMP dimethylallyltransferase. Sequence analysis showed an open reading frame of 729 nucleotides, capable of encoding a protein of 27,545 daltons. A single new labelled protein of 27,200 daltons was detected in Escherichia coli maxicells expressing the cloned tzs gene. Significant sequence homology was observed between the tzs and the published tmr sequence from pTiT37.     

Nucleotide sequence of Rhizobium meliloti insertion sequence ISRm1: homology to IS2 from Escherichia coli and IS426 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Nucleotide sequencing of Rhizobium meliloti insertion sequence ISRm1 showed that it is 1319 nucleotides long and includes 32/31 nucleotide terminal inverted repeats. Analysis of five different insertion sites using sequencing primers complementary to sequences within the left and right ends demonstrated that ISRm1 generates five bp direct repeats at the sites of insertion. Although ISRm1 has shown a target preference for certain short regions (hot spots), there was no apparent similarity in the DNA sequences near the insertion sites. On one strand ISRm1 contains two contiguous open reading frames (ORFs) spanning most of its length. ISRm1 was found to have over 50% sequence homology to insertion sequences IS2 from Escherichia coli and IS426 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Their sizes, the sequences of their inverted repeats, and the characteristics of their insertion sites are also comparable, indicating that ISRm1, IS2 and IS426 belong to a class of related insertion sequences. Comparison of the proteins potentially encoded by these insertion sequences showed that the two ORFs found in ISRm1 are also present in IS2 and IS426, suggesting that they may be functional genes.     

Inhibition by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas savastanoi of development of the hypersensitive response elicited by Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola.

Injection into tobacco leaves of biotype 1 Agrobacterium tumefaciens or of Pseudomonas savastanoi inhibited the development of a visible hypersensitive response to the subsequent injection at the same site of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola. This interference with the hypersensitive response was not seen with injection of bacterial growth medium or Escherichia coli cells. Live A. tumefaciens cells were required for the inhibitory effect. Various mutants and strains of A. tumefaciens were examined to determine the genes involved. Known chromosomal mutations generally had no effect on the ability of A. tumefaciens to inhibit the hypersensitive response, except for chvB mutants which showed a reduced (but still significant) inhibition of the hypersensitive response. Ti plasmid genes appeared to be required for the inhibition of the hypersensitive response. The bacteria did not need to be virulent in order to inhibit the hypersensitive response. Deletion of the vir region from pTi had no effect on the inhibition. However, the T region of the Ti plasmid was required for inhibition. Studies of transposon mutants suggested that the tms but not tmr or ocs genes were required. These genes were not acting after transfer to plant cells since they were effective in strains lacking vir genes and thus unable to transfer DNA to plant cells. The results suggest that the expression of the tms genes in the bacteria may inhibit the development of the hypersensitive response by the plant. An examination of the genes required in P. savastanoi for the inhibition of the hypersensitive response suggested that bacterial production of auxin was also required for the inhibition of the hypersensitive response by these bacteria.     

Nucleotide sequence of pvdD, a pyoverdine biosynthetic gene from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: PvdD has similarity to peptide synthetases.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes a fluorescent siderophore, pyoverdine, when grown under iron-deficient conditions. Pyoverdine consists of a chromophoric group bound to a partly cyclic octapeptide. As a step toward understanding the molecular events involved in pyoverdine synthesis, we have sequenced a gene, pvdD, required for this process. The gene encodes a 2,448-residue protein, PvdD, which has a predicted molecular mass of 273,061 Da and contains two highly similar domains of about 1,000 amino acids each. The protein is similar to peptide synthetases from a range of bacterial and fungal species, indicating that synthesis of the peptide moiety of pyoverdine proceeds by a nonribosomal mechanism. The pvdD gene is adjacent to a gene, fpvA, which encodes an outer membrane receptor protein required for uptake of ferripyoverdine.     

A cytokinin from the culture filtrate of Pseudomonas syringae pv. savastanoi

The structure of a new cytokinin, isolated from the culture filtrate of Pseudomonas syringae pv. savastanoi, is assigned on the basis of spectroscopic data including its tetracetyl derivative and comparison with related adenine derivatives. It was identified as 6-(4-hydroxy-1,3-dimethylbut-trans-2-enylamino-9-β-D-ribofuranosyl)purine.     

Nucleotide sequence and expression in Escherichia coli of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa lasA gene.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO-E64 is a mutant which produces parental levels of elastase antigen but has no elastolytic activity at 37 degrees C. The lesion (lasA1) in PAO-E64 is not a mutation in the structural gene for P. aeruginosa elastase (P.A. Schad, R.A. Bever, T.I. Nicas, F. Leduce, L.F. Hanne, and B.H. Iglewski, J. Bacteriol. 169: 2691-2696, 1987). A 1.7-kilobase segment of DNA that complements the lasA1 lesion was sequenced. Computer analysis of the DNA sequence showed that it contained an open reading frame which encoded a 41,111-dalton protein. The lasA gene was expressed under an inducible PT-7 promoter, and a 40,000-dalton protein was detected in Escherichia coli lysates. The lasA protein was localized in the outer membrane fraction of E. coli. This lasA protein produced in E. coli activated the extracellular elastase produced by the P. aeruginosa mutant, PAO-E64.     

Nucleotide sequence of the virG locus of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens plasmid pTiC58

The nucleotide sequence of the virG locus of the nopaline type plasmid pTiC58 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been determined. It contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 759 nucleotides and has 77% homology to the virG sequences of octopine type plasmids. Differences between the sequences of the two types of Ti plasmids in the region of virG are located predominantly outside the ORF. The amino acid sequences inferred from the two virG genes show 80% homology to each other and each shows the same moderate homologies to amino acid sequences derived from genes in a family of two-component regulatory systems. Specific differences in nucleotide and amino acid sequences as well as a structure-function model for the gene product are discussed.     

Nucleotide sequence of the virG locus of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens plasmid pTiC58

The nucleotide sequence of the virG locus of the nopaline type plasmid pTiC58 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been determined. It contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 759 nucleotides and has 77% homology to the virG sequences of octopine type plasmids. Differences between the sequences of the two types of Ti plasmids in the region of virG are located predominantly outside the ORF. The amino acid sequences inferred from the two virG genes show 80% homology to each other and each shows the same moderate homologies to amino acid sequences derived from genes in a family of two-component regulatory systems. Specific differences in nucleotide and amino acid sequences as well as a structure-function model for the gene product are discussed.     

Nucleotide sequence and expression in Escherichia coli of the cephalosporin acylase gene of a Pseudomonas strain.

The gene encoding cephalosporin acylase, which hydrolyzes 7-beta-(4-carboxybutanamido)-cephalosporanic acid (GL-7ACA) to 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7ACA) and glutaric acid, was cloned from a Pseudomonas sp. strain V22 and expressed in Escherichia coli, in a two-cistron system, and the enzyme was purified and characterized. The purified enzyme was composed of two non-identical subunits, their molecular weights were estimated by SDS-PAGE to be 40,000 and 22,000, and had a pI of 4.6. The amino acid sequence of the enzyme, deduced from the nucleotide sequence, showed high similarity (97%) with that of a previously reported acyI-encoded cephalosporin acylase. Cephalosporin acylase also resembles the bacterial gamma-glutamyl transpeptidases (GGTs) with respect to their molecular organization and amino acid sequence, but differs from them with respect to catalytic and immunological properties. Purified enzyme exhibited not only cephalosporin acylase activity, but also GGT activity. The Km values of the enzyme for GL-7ACA and L-gamma-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide were 6.1 and 3.8 mM, respectively. Cephalosporin acylase was not recognized by antibodies prepared against bacterial GGTs.     

Nucleotide sequence, evolutionary origin and biological role of a rearranged cytokinin gene isolated from a wide host range biotype III Agrobacterium strain

Summary A DNA fragment with homology to the cytokinin (ipt) gene from biotype I Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain Ach5 was cloned from the Ti plasmid of the wide host range biotype III Agrobacterium strain Tm-4 and sequenced. The fragment contains an intact ipt coding sequence. However, the 3 non-coding region of this ipt gene is rearranged due to a 0.9 kb deletion fusing it to the 3 coding region of the neighbouring gene 6a, most of which was found to be deleted. The Tm-4 ipt gene is strongly related to the partially deleted ipt gene of the limited host range biotype III strain Ag162. To test its biological activity, the Tm-4 ipt gene was inserted into a specially constructed, disarmed Ti vector lacking tzs and tested on tobacco, where the rearranged ipt gene induced shoot formation. The cloned Tm-4 ipt gene was mutated with Tn5 and the intact gene on the wild-type Tm-4 Ti plasmid was replaced by the mutated gene. The resulting strain was avirulent on tobacco but normally virulent on the natural host of the wild-type strain Tm-4, grapevine. As the biotype 1 6b gene diminishes the effect of a corresponding ipt gene, a larger Tm-4 fragment carrying both the ipt gene and an adjacent 6b-like gene was also tested on tobacco and compared with the Tm-4 ipt fragment alone and with an ipt and 6b/ipt fragment derived from Ach5. The Tm-4 6b gene diminishes the effect of the Tm-4 ipt gene, showing the Tm-4 6b gene to be active as well. The Tm-4 6b/ipt combination is less effective than the Ach5 combination. These results provide further insight into the molecular basis of the host range differences between limited host range and wide host range biotype III Agrobacterium strains and show that the WHR cytokinin gene, although active, does not significantly contribute to tumour formation on the natural host of the WHR biotype III strains, grapevine.Abbreviations LHR limited host range - WHR wide host range - onc oncogenicity genes - iaaH indoleacetamide hydrolase gene - iaaM tryptophan monooxygenase gene - ipt isopentenyl transferase gene - tzs transzeatin secretion gene - NAA -naphthalene acetic acid - BAP 6-benzylaminopurine - Km kanamycin - Neo neomycin - Cm chloramphenicol     

Nucleotide sequence analysis of IS427 and its target sites in Agrobacterium tumefaciens T37

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of IS427, an insertion sequence from Agrobacterium tumefaciens T37, IS427 is 1271 bp long, contains 16-bp imperfect terminal inverted repeats, and generates a 2-bp target sequence duplication. It is present at three sites in the pTiT37 plasmid and is absent from the chromosome of A. tumefaciens T37. Each of the IS427 elements sequenced was near a site with sequence homology to integration host factor (IHF)-binding sites which suggested that IHF may be involved in IS427 transposition.