The nucleotide sequence of a small cryptic plasmid found in Staphylococcus aureus and its relationship to other plasmids

The nucleotide sequence of a small (1273 bp) plasmid (pOX1000) of Staphylococcus aureus has been determined and compared with similar plasmids. The sequence includes a single open reading frame; two large palindromes and a 22 bp palindrome that is contiguously repeated three times upstream of the open reading frame. Composite plasmids of pE194ts and pOX1000 were constructed with pUC18 separately inserted into five different sites on pOX1000 and used to analyse the replication functions of the cryptic plasmid.