IS<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ppy1</Emphasis>, a novel mobile element of the ancient <Emphasis Type="Italic">Psychrobacter maritimus</Emphasis> permafrost strain: Translocations in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> K-12 cells and formation of composite transposons

It was shown that IS element ISPpy1 isolated earlier in the permafrost strain Psychrobacter maritimus MR29-12 has a high level of functional activity in cells of the heterologous host Escherichia coli K-12. ISPpy1 can be translocated in E. coli cells by itself and mobilize adjacent genes and can also form composite transposons flanked by two copies of this element. Apart from translocations between different plasmids, the composite ISPpy1-containing transposon Tn5080a is capable of translocation from the plasmid into the E. coli chromosome with high frequency and from the chromosome into the plasmid. Among products of Tn5080a transposition into plasmid R388, simple insertions were predominantly formed together with cointegrates. Upon mobilization of adjacent genes with the use of one ISPpy1 copy, only cointegrates arise.     

Identification of a novel genetic element in Escherichia coli K-12.

Induction of the SOS repair processes of Escherichia coli K-12 caused a 14.4-kilobase species of circular deoxyribonucleic acid, called element e14, to be excised from the chromosome. To aid further characterization of this species, an 11.6-kilobase segment of e14 was inserted into the HindIII site of plasmid pBR313. To map e14 on the E. coli K-12 chromosome, the recombinant plasmid, pAG2, was used to transform a polA recipient, an event which required integration of pAG2 into the recipient chromosome. This recombinational event was dependent upon the region of homology between the incoming plasmid and the chromosome, as no transformants were scored when either a strain cured of the element was the recipient or pBR313 was the transforming deoxyribonucleic acid. Using these transformants, we have shown that e14 maps between the purB and pyrC loci near min 25. Several strains of E. coli K-12 were found to contain e14; however, one strain, Ymel trpA36, did not. In addition, e14 was found to be absent in both E. coli B/5 and E. coli C. The approach to mapping developed for this work could be used to map other fragments of E. coli deoxyribonucleic acid which have no known phenotype.     

On the enthalpy of formation of Escherichia coli K-12 cells

An examination is made of five methods for obtaining values of the enthalpy of formation of a unit mass of living Escherichia coli K-12 cells. The values obtained by these methods ranged from -88.95 kJ to -99.55 kJ, the gross average being 96.01 kJ, per unit carbon formula weight equivalent of living, hydrated cells. Although theoretically the growth of this organism in a microcalorimeter should provide the best value, the value obtained by this method (-88.95 kJ per UCFW equivalent) is not in close agreement with those of the other four methods, the values from which form a cluster averaging -97.8 +/- 1.0 kJ (-23.4 +/- 0.2 kcal)/UCFW equivalent. Calculations using this value indicate that the enthalpy change accompanying anabolism (as this is represented) is zero, or very nearly so, and that the heat of growth is that from catabolism alone.     

Anaerobic incubation enhances the colony formation of a polA recB strain of Escherichia coli K-12.

Escherichia coli strain E247 (polA1 recB21) has reduced colony formation (even at the permissive temperature of 30 degrees C) because of a poor suppressor mutation (sup-126). The colony formation was enhanced in the absence of oxygen about 3-fold at 30 degrees C and 10(6)-fold at 43 degrees C, suggesting that a polA recB strain was inviable due to oxygen toxicity. Colony formation was also increased by incubation in an agar medium containing the reducing agent thioglycolate and incubation in the presence of chloroform-killed Saccharomyces cerevisiae pet+ cells, but not pet cells. Since the E247 strain viability was inversely dependent on the oxygen pressure and since the strain was more sensitive to superoxide radical than either the polA or the recB mutant, it seems likely that the polA and recB genes play a role in repairing DNA damage during respiration.     

Genetic basis of minicell formation in Escherichia coli K-12.

Hfr- and P1-mediated genetic transfer experiments failed to confirm the presence of a " minA " gene in Escherichia coli K-12, leading to the conclusion that mutation at a single locus, the minB locus, is sufficient to cause minicell production in this species.     

Mammalian blood-mediated mutagenicity tests using a multipurpose strain of Escherichia coli K-12

Cytogenetic studies have been performed to determine the effect of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) on mammalian chromosomes in vivo. An elevated level of chromosome breakage is present in mouse bone marrow cells within 12 h after oral or parenteral dosing with 200 mg/kg. Damage is most severe at 24 h after oral dosing and at 72 h following intraperitoneal injection. A dose-response curve was constructed using oral doses of 10 to 200 mg/kg. The no-effect dose level lies within the 10–25 mg/kg range when administered as a single dose. In subacute studies, positive results have been obtained with as little as 2.5 mg/kg/day administered orally for 5 days.     

Single-stranded conjugation in Escherichia coli K-12: characteristics of the formation of a heterogenous progeny]

During a single-stranded conjugation donor DNA, being a single-stranded form, takes part in the process of recombination. That is why a heteroduplex DNA must be an intermediate product of the recombination. The heteroduplex can be partially corrected as it was supposed for genetic transformation. The division of such a corrected heteroduplex gives the heterogenous progeny of exoconjugants. And this "correctional" heterogeneity must possess two following properties: 1) the mixed progeny must consist of only two recombinational genotypes; 2) the heterogeneity must be marker-specific. The experimental support to both predictions was obtained by the method of clonal analysis of conjugational merozygotes.     

Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 with altered excision efficiency of transposons Tn5 and Tn9

HFETn5, HFETn9 and LFETn9 mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 have been isolated. The frequency of Tn5 precise excision from the chromosomal lac operon is increased 3-660-fold in nine HFETn5 mutants. The majority of these mutations have no influence on the efficiency of precise excision of transposon Tn9, though hfeTn5-04 and hfeTn5-06 mutations decrease excision efficiency 2-13-fold. The Tn9 transposon is excised in HFETn9 mutant about 20-fold more efficiently than in the wild type strain. This mutation does not stimulate excision of Tn5 and Tn10. LfeTn9 mutation decreases excision frequency of Tn9 11-17-fold, but has no effect on Tn5 excision and increases that of Tn10 about 20-fold. The differences in genetic control and mechanisms of excision of the transposons with long and short inverted repeats are discussed.     

Death of the Escherichia coli K-12 strain W3110 in soil and water.

Whether Escherichia coli K-12 strain W3110 can enter the "viable but nonculturable" state was studied with sterile and nonsterile water and soil at various temperatures. In nonsterile river water, the plate counts of added E. coli cells dropped to less than 10 CFU/ml in less than 10 days. Acridine orange direct counts, direct viable counts, most-probable-number estimates, and PCR analyses indicated that the added E. coli cells were disappearing from the water in parallel with the number of CFU. Similar results were obtained with nonsterile soil, although the decline of the added E. coli was slower. In sterile water or soil, the added E. coli persisted for much longer, often without any decline in the plate counts even after 50 days. In sterile river water at 37 degrees C and sterile artificial seawater at 20 and 37 degrees C, the plate counts declined by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude, while the acridine orange direct counts remained unchanged. However, direct viable counts and various resuscitation studies all indicated that the nonculturable cells were nonviable. Thus, in either sterile or nonsterile water and soil, the decline in plate counts of E. coli K-12 strain W3110 is not due to the cells entering the viable but nonculturable state, but is simply due to their death.     

Fimbriae of Escherichia coli K-12 strain AW405 and related bacteria.

Fimbriate strains of Escherichia coli K-12 of the AW405 series agglutinated erythrocytes of several animal species. The hemagglutination was mannose senstivie, and the fimbriae were type 1. When cultured for extended periods in static broths, they did not form fimbrial pellicles but formed thick, nonfimbrial pellicles, the appearance of which was not associated with the selective outgrowth of fimbriate-phase bacteria.