Mapping of a genetic locus that affects glycerol 3-phosphate transport in Bacillus subtilis.

Two types of fosfomycin-resistant mutants of Bacillus subtilis were isolated. Mutants of the first type (GlpT mutants) were resistant to at least 200 microgram of fosfomycin per ml and failed to take up exogenous glycerol 3-phosphate. Mutants of the second type were resistant to lower concentrations of fosfomycin and transported glycerol-3-phosphate as efficiently as wild-type bacteria. The glpT mutations, but not the mutations in the second type of fosfomycin-resistant mutants, map in the cysA-aroI region of the B. subtilis chromosome.     

Isolation and characterization of plasmid mutations that enable partitioning of pSC101 replicons lacking the partition (par) locus.

Second-site mutations that allow stable inheritance of partition-defective pSC101 plasmids mapped to seven distinct sites in the 5' half of the plasmid repA gene. While the mutations also elevated pSC101 copy number, there was no correlation between copy number increase and plasmid stability. Combinations of mutations enabled pSC101 DNA replication in the absence of integration host factor and also stabilized par-deleted plasmids in cells deficient in DNA gyrase or defective in DnaA binding. Our findings suggest that repA mutations compensate for par deletion by enabling the origin region RepA-DNA-DnaA complex to form under suboptimal conditions. They also provide evidence that this complex has a role in partitioning that is separate from its known ability to promote plasmid DNA replication.     

Structural plasmid instability in recombination- and repair-deficient strains of Bacillus subtilis

Plasmid pGP1, containing a fusion between the penicillinase gene of Bacillus licheniformis and the beta-galactosidase gene of Escherichia coli, was constructed. This plasmid enabled a study of structural plasmid instability in Bacillus subtilis wild-type cells and a variety of B. subtilis strains, defective in recombination- and DNA-repair functions. Large differences with respect to the level of stability of this plasmid were observed in the various genetic backgrounds.     

In vitro genetic labeling of Bacillus subtilis cryptic plasmid pHV400.

A DNA segment which encodes resistance to tetracycline, and cannot replicate autonomously, was excised by HindIII endonuclease from plasmid pT127 and joined to the cryptic Bacillus subtilis plasmid pHV400. The analysis of resulting chimerae has allowed us to identify a 1.8 × 10⁶ segment of pHV400 which carried the replication functions of the cryptic plasmid. Another DNA segment, designated pHV32, which can replicate in Escherichia coli but not in B. subtilis has also been used for genetic labeling of the replication region of pHV400. pHV32 is convenient for use in isolating cryptic replicons active in B. subtilis because (1) it can be prepared in large quantities, free from any interferring B. subtilis replicons, from an appropriate E. coli strain; (2) it carries unique sites for various restriction endonucleases; (3) the chloramphenicol resistance gene which it specifies can transform B. subtilis at a high efficiency (10⁶–10⁷ transformants/μg of DNA).     

Promoter-probe plasmid for Bacillus subtilis.

We have constructed a promoter-probe expression vector for Bacillus subtilis. This plasmid, pCED6, can be used to fuse various DNA sequences to the structural gene of Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase, permitting analysis of the promoter activity of such sequences. pCED6 replicates and confers drug resistances in both E. coli and B. subtilis.     

Introduction of a Streptococcus cremoris plasmid in Bacillus subtilis.

Streptococcus cremoris Wg2 plasmid pWV01 was introduced in Bacillus subtilis by protoplast transformation. The yield of pWV01 isolated from B. subtilis was low. pWV01 contains a unique site for the restriction endonuclease MboI.     

Structural and biochemical analyses of YvgN and YtbE from Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis is one of the most studied gram‐positive bacteria. In this work, YvgN and YtbE from B. subtilis, assigned as AKR5G1 and AKR5G2 of aldo‐keto reductase (AKR) superfamily. AKR catalyzes the NADPH‐dependent reduction of aldehyde or aldose substrates to alcohols. YvgN and YtbE were studied by crystallographic and enzymatic analyses. The apo structures of these proteins were determined by molecular replacement, and the structure of holoenzyme YvgN with NADPH was also solved, revealing the conformational changes upon cofactor binding. Our biochemical data suggest both YvgN and YtbE have preferential specificity for derivatives of benzaldehyde, such as nitryl or halogen group substitution at the 2 or 4 positions. These proteins also showed broad catalytic activity on many standard substrates of AKR, such as glyoxal, dihydroxyacetone, and DL‐glyceraldehyde, suggesting a possible role in bacterial detoxification.     

Genetic mapping of katA, a locus that affects catalase 1 level in Bacillus subtilis.

Several mutants of Bacillus subtilis deficient in catalase synthesis generated by nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis have been used to map a locus affecting catalase activity. Two- and three-factor bacteriophage PBS1 transductional crosses were used to locate the locus, named katA, between recH and thiA with 98% linkage to thiA at 70 degrees on the B. subtilis genome. The synthesis of catalase 1, found only in vegetative cells, was affected by katA.     

The partition (par) locus of pSC101 is an enhancer of plasmid incompatibility

The incompatibitity that pSC101-derived plasmids express toward each other is mediated by directly repeated sequences (iterons) located near the plasmid's replication origin. We report here that the pSC101 par locus, which stabilizes plasmid inheritance in dividing cell populations and alters DNA superheliclty, can function as a cis-acting enhancer of incompatibility, which we show is determined jointly by the copy number of the plasmid and the number of iterons per copy. A single synthetic 32 bp iteron sequence carried by the pUC19 plasmid confers strong pSC101-specific incompatibility in the absence of any other pSC101 sites but requires the par locus to express strong incompatibility when carried by a lower-copy-number plasmid. We propose a model by which the par locus can enchance the apparently antagonistic processes of incompatibility and pSC101 DNA replication while concurrently facilitating plasmid distribution during cell division.     

Membrane association of a Staphylococcus aureus plasmid in Bacillus subtilis.

The Staphylococcus aureus plasmid pUB110 was found to be enriched in deoxyribonucleic acid-membrane complexes isolated from Bacillus subtilis containing pUB110.     

Isolation and characterization of a recombinant plasmid carrying a functional part of the Bacillus subtilis spoIIA locus

Plasmid pHM2 consists of a 3.3 kb insert of Bacillus subtilis DNA in the chimeric plasmid pHV33, and can replicate in Escherichia coli and B. subtilis. In B. subtilis, pHM2 complements the defects resulting from mutations spo-42, spo-50, spo-69 and sas-1 in the spoIIA locus. This complementation can occur in recE4 strains where recombination of the plasmid with the chromosome is prevented, and the chromosome retains the mutant allele. Thus the plasmid carries a functional part of the spoIIA locus; it does not contain the complete locus as it cannot complement several other spoIIA mutations. It is likely that the locus is complex, containing at least two genes.     

New chloramphenicol resistance locus in Bacillus subtilis.

A spontaneously occurring, noninducible, chloramphenicol-resistant mutant of Bacillus subtilis 168 has a mutation (cam-2) which maps in the ribosomal protein region of the chromosome near dal. Its presence does not confer dependence on chloramphenicol. Ribosomes of the cam-2 strain remained sensitive to chloramphenicol in in vitro protein synthesis. No chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity could be detected.     

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of mutations in the spoIVC locus of Bacillus subtilis

The spoIVC locus of Bacillus subtilis was analysed. Fourteen spoIVC mutants isolated following nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis were used along with two previously characterized spoIVC mutants to construct a fine structure genetic map of the locus. The recombination index (RI) measured between extreme mutations was 0.26; no recombination could be detected between four of the mutations. Complementation analysis showed that all the mutations fall into two cistrons. The RI between extreme mutations in cistron A was about 0.17 and that between extreme mutations in cistron B was about 0.05. In respect of biochemical markers, the spoIVC mutations all produced similar phenotypes, irrespective of their location. However, in both cistrons oligosporogenous and asporogenous mutations mapped close together.     

Analysis of plasmid deletional instability in Bacillus subtilis.

Using a model system, we have studied deletion formation in Bacillus subtilis. When the staphylococcal plasmids pSA2100 (7.1 kilobases) and pUB110 (4.5 kilobases) were ligated to one another at their unique XbaI sites and transformed into either rec+ or recE4 strains of B. subtilis, an intramolecular recombination event usually occurred. Two plasmids, one of 2.6 kilobases and the other of 9.0 kilobases, were consistently isolated and shown by restriction enzyme analysis to be derived by recombination occurring in the pSA2100-pUB110 cointegrate. Analysis of the sequence of the junctions of the recombinant plasmids and of the crossover regions of the parental plasmids suggested that a reciprocal, conservative, intramolecular recombination event had occurred between short 18-base-pair homologous sequences that were oriented as direct repeats and bounded by regions of dyad symmetry. Evidence is presented that the above illegitimate recombination event is biased to occur intramolecularly and that randomly chosen direct repeats of either 22 or 29 base pairs are not sufficient to support recombination. The recombination event occurs in recA1, recB2, recD3, recE5, recL16, recM13, polA59, polA13, uvr-22, uvr-13, and stb mutants of B. subtilis and does not require that the competent state be established.