Cloning of a tyrosinase gene in Streptococcus thermophilus

Summary The streptococcal cloning vector pIL253 (4.96-kbp, Em^r) was used to introduce the Streptomyces antibioticus tyrosinase (mel) gene (1.56-kbp) into S. thermophilus, an important microbe in dairy fermentations. Electrotransformants of S. thermophilus ST128 contained 6.51-kbp recombinant plasmids which probed positively in Southern hybridizations with the biotin-labeled mel fragment. Western blots of cell extracts resolved by SDS-PAGE showed the presence of a ca. 31-kDa band thus confirming the synthesis of tyrosinase protein by genetic transformants.