Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1992 Nov;174(22):7486–7489. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.22.7486-7489.1992

A region of the broad-host-range plasmid RK2 causes stable in planta inheritance of plasmids in Rhizobium meliloti cells isolated from alfalfa root nodules.

M Weinstein 1, R C Roberts 1, D R Helinski 1
PMCID: PMC207450  PMID: 1429472

Abstract

We demonstrate for the first time that the broad-host-range stabilization loci from plasmid RK2 cause total retention of plasmids in cells of Rhizobium meliloti during symbiosis with alfalfa. Two derivatives of plasmid RK2, pRK290 and a 7.3-kb mini-RK2 plasmid, were stabilized in R. meliloti cells isolated from root nodules by the insertion of a 3.2-kb DNA fragment or a smaller 0.8-kb DNA fragment derived from the RK2 stabilization region.

Full text

PDF
7487

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Austin S. J. Plasmid partition. Plasmid. 1988 Jul;20(1):1–9. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(88)90001-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. David M., Daveran M. L., Batut J., Dedieu A., Domergue O., Ghai J., Hertig C., Boistard P., Kahn D. Cascade regulation of nif gene expression in Rhizobium meliloti. Cell. 1988 Aug 26;54(5):671–683. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(88)80012-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Davis T. L., Helinski D. R., Roberts R. C. Transcription and autoregulation of the stabilizing functions of broad-host-range plasmid RK2 in Escherichia coli, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Jul;6(14):1981–1994. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01371.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ditta G., Stanfield S., Corbin D., Helinski D. R. Broad host range DNA cloning system for gram-negative bacteria: construction of a gene bank of Rhizobium meliloti. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Dec;77(12):7347–7351. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.7347. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ditta G., Virts E., Palomares A., Kim C. H. The nifA gene of Rhizobium meliloti is oxygen regulated. J Bacteriol. 1987 Jul;169(7):3217–3223. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.7.3217-3223.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Eberl L., Givskov M., Schwab H. The divergent promoters mediating transcription of the par locus of plasmid RP4 are subject to autoregulation. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Jul;6(14):1969–1979. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01370.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Friedman A. M., Long S. R., Brown S. E., Buikema W. J., Ausubel F. M. Construction of a broad host range cosmid cloning vector and its use in the genetic analysis of Rhizobium mutants. Gene. 1982 Jun;18(3):289–296. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(82)90167-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gerlitz M., Hrabak O., Schwab H. Partitioning of broad-host-range plasmid RP4 is a complex system involving site-specific recombination. J Bacteriol. 1990 Nov;172(11):6194–6203. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.11.6194-6203.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kahn D., Ditta G. Modular structure of FixJ: homology of the transcriptional activator domain with the -35 binding domain of sigma factors. Mol Microbiol. 1991 Apr;5(4):987–997. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1991.tb00774.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Long S. R. Rhizobium genetics. Annu Rev Genet. 1989;23:483–506. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.23.120189.002411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nordström K., Austin S. J. Mechanisms that contribute to the stable segregation of plasmids. Annu Rev Genet. 1989;23:37–69. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.23.120189.000345. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Roberts R. C., Burioni R., Helinski D. R. Genetic characterization of the stabilizing functions of a region of broad-host-range plasmid RK2. J Bacteriol. 1990 Nov;172(11):6204–6216. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.11.6204-6216.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ruvkun G. B., Ausubel F. M. A general method for site-directed mutagenesis in prokaryotes. Nature. 1981 Jan 1;289(5793):85–88. doi: 10.1038/289085a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Virts E. L., Stanfield S. W., Helinski D. R., Ditta G. S. Common regulatory elements control symbiotic and microaerobic induction of nifA in Rhizobium meliloti. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 May;85(9):3062–3065. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.9.3062. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weinstein M., Lois A. F., Monson E. K., Ditta G. S., Helinski D. R. Isolation of phosphorylation-deficient mutants of the Rhizobium meliloti two-component regulatory protein, FixJ. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Aug;6(15):2041–2049. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01377.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES