The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum: molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression

Summary The ppc gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum encoding phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase was isolated by complementation of a ppc mutant of Escherichia coli using a cosmid gene bank of chromosomal c. glutamicum DNA. By subsequent subcloning into the plasmid pUC8 and deletion analysis, the ppc gene could be located on a 3.3 kb SalI fragment. This fragment was able to complement the E. coli ppc mutant and conferred PEP carboxylase activity to the mutant. The complete nucleotide sequence of the ppc gene including 5 and 3 flanking regions has been determined and the primary structure of PEP carboxylase was deduced. The sequence predicts a 919 residue protein product (molecular weight of 103154) which shows 34% similarity with the respective E. coli enzyme. Present address: Institut für Biotechnologie 1 der Kernforschungsanlage, Postfach 1913, D-5170 Jülich, Federal Republic of Germany     

A vector system with temperature-sensitive replication for gene disruption and mutational cloning in streptomycetes

Summary Replication of the Streptomyces ghanaensis plasmid pSG5 was shown to be temperature sensitive. The pSG5 replicon is stably inherited at temperatures below 34° C, but is lost at incubation temperatures above this. A family of cloning vectors was constructed using the pSG5 minimal replicon and different marker genes. The vectors obtained are small in size, have an intermediate copy number, possess a broad host range and are compatible with some other streptomycete vector systems. By increasing the incubation temperature, these vectors can be eliminated from their host cells very efficiently. The suitability of the pSG5 vector family for mutating chromosomal genes by gene disruption was demonstrated: pBN10, a pSG5 derivative containing an internal fragment of the phosphinothricyl-alanyl-alanine (PTT) resistance gene pat, was integrated into the chromosomal pat gene of the PTT-producer Streptomyces viridochromogenes thus inactivating PTT resistance. The integrated pBN10 plasmid was rescued from the chromosome, together with an adjacent fragment carrying DNA of the PTT biosynthetic cluster.     

Accurate mapping of the Escherichia coli pepD gene by sequence analysis of its 5′ flanking region

Summary A cloned DNA fragment, carrying the gene for peptidase D (pepD) of Escherichia coli, was partially sequenced. By purification of peptidase D and sequence determination of an amino-terminal oligopeptide the reading frame of the pepD gene, starting with a GTG initiator codon, was unambiguously identified.An overlap of the established nucleotide sequence with the previously sequenced 5 flanking region of the gpt gene allowed the exact distance between pepD and gpt to be calculated. The two genes are pointing towards each other and are separated by 260 bp. A search for open reading frames (ORFs) and the analysis of possible codon usage in the intercistronic region indicate the absence of an additional gene (lpcA) between pepD and gpt.     

Microdissection of banded human chromosomes

Summary Physical dissection of metaphase chromosomes is the most straightforward approach for the isolation of DNA sequences from specific chromosome regions. However, conventional microdissection techniques are too crude and inefficient for analysis of the human genome. Here we describe a technique for the precise dissection of single bands from GTG-banded chromosomes. Cells from normal amniotic fluid cell cultures are harvested by the pipette method. Microdissection is performed on an inverted microscope (magnification 1250 x) with the help of extended siliconized glass needles and an electronically controlled micromanipulator. Enzymatic amplification of the dissected DNA allows the construction of band-specific DNA libraries from as few as 20 dissected chromosome fragments.     

In vitro tetracycline susceptibility of Chlamydia trachomatis in clinical specimens

A novel approach to determine the tetracycline susceptibility of Chlamydia trachomatis directly from specimens without cell culture propagation and adaptation has been explored. Out of a total of 1290 genital specimens from a sexually transmitted disease clinic, 211 (16.4%) were positive for C. trachomatis. A tetracycline concentration of 0.032 g/ml completely inhibited the appearance of inclusions in all of the 211 positive specimens. Of the positive specimens, 120 (56.9%) and 18 (8.5%) respectively showed the presence of 1 to 9 and 100 or more inclusions per microtiter well in antibiotic free medium. Other antibiotics are being tested in the same manner.A part of this paper was presented at the Canadian Public Health Association, STD meeting in Ottawa, Canada, 28–29 October 1985     

Anaerobic degradation of isovalerate by a defined methanogenic coculture

Isovalerate-oxidizing strictly aneerobic bacteria were isolated from marine sediment and sewage sludge in coculture with Desulfovibrio sp. Cells stained Gram positive and behaved Gram positive also in Gram classification with KOH. Isovalerate degradation depended on interspecies hydrogen transfer to syntrophic hydrogen-oxidizing sulfate reducers or methanogens. Isovalerate was the only substrate utilized and was fermented to 3 mol acetate and 1 mol hydrogen per mol substrate. The degradation pathway was studied by enzyme assays in crude cell extracts, and included acetyl-CoA dependent activation of isovalerate, oxidation to methylcrotonyl-CoA and carboxylation to methylgluta-conyl-CoA which is hydrated and cleaved to acetoacetate and acetyl-CoA. Studies with inhibitors and ionophores suggest that energy conservation with this organism depends on either acetate efflux-driven proton symport or on an ion-gradient driven carboxylation mechanism.