Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1976 Sep;127(3):1177–1187. doi: 10.1128/jb.127.3.1177-1187.1976

Plasmid-protein relaxation complexes in Staphylococcus aureus.

R Novick
PMCID: PMC232910  PMID: 956124

Abstract

Protein-deoxyribonucleic acid relaxation complexes have been demonstrated for six Staphylococcus aureus plasmids out of sixteen examined. Four of these encode stretomycin resistence, have molecular weights of about 2.7 x 10(6), and are isolated as supercoiled molecules that are virtally 100% relaxable by treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate. It is probable that these four isolates represent a single widely disseminated plasmid species. The other two plasmids showing relaxation complexes have molecular weights of about 3 x 10(6) and encode chloramphenicol resistance. The complexes in these cases are unstable, and it has not been possible to induce more than 50% relaxation by any of the standard treatments. Ten other plasmids do not show detectable complexes. These include three penicillinase plasmids, four tetracycline-resistance plasmids, one plasmid carrying kanamycin-neomycin resistance, and finally, two chloramphenicol-resistance plasmids.

Full text

PDF
1177

Selected References

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

  1. Chopra I., Bennett P. M., Lacey R. W. A variety of Staphylococcal plasmids present as multiple copies. J Gen Microbiol. 1973 Dec;79(2):343–345. doi: 10.1099/00221287-79-2-343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Clewell D. B., Helinski D. R. Properties of a supercoiled deoxyribonucleic acid-protein relaxation complex and strand specificity of the relaxation event. Biochemistry. 1970 Oct 27;9(22):4428–4440. doi: 10.1021/bi00824a026. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Clewell D. B., Helinski D. R. Supercoiled circular DNA-protein complex in Escherichia coli: purification and induced conversion to an opern circular DNA form. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Apr;62(4):1159–1166. doi: 10.1073/pnas.62.4.1159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HERSHEY A. D., BURGI E. COMPLEMENTARY STRUCTURE OF INTERACTING SITES AT THE ENDS OF LAMBDA DNA MOLECULES. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 Feb;53:325–328. doi: 10.1073/pnas.53.2.325. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hudson B., Clayton D. A., Vinograd J. Complex mitochondrial DNA. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1968;33:435–442. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1968.033.01.050. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Iordănescu S. Recombinant plasmid obtained from two different, compatible staphylococcal plasmids. J Bacteriol. 1975 Nov;124(2):597–601. doi: 10.1128/jb.124.2.597-601.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Katz L., Kingsbury D. T., Helinski D. R. Stimulation by cyclic adenosine monophosphate of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid replication and catabolite repression of the plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid-protein relaxation complex. J Bacteriol. 1973 May;114(2):577–591. doi: 10.1128/jb.114.2.577-591.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kupersztoch-Portnoy Y. M., Miklos G. L., Helinski D. R. Properties of the relaxation complexes of supercoiled deoxyribonucleic acid and protein of the R plasmids R64, R28K, and R6K. J Bacteriol. 1974 Oct;120(1):545–548. doi: 10.1128/jb.120.1.545-548.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MAY J. W., HOUGHTON R. H., PERRET C. J. THE EFFECT OF GROWTH AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES ON SOME HERITABLE PROPERTIES OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. J Gen Microbiol. 1964 Nov;37:157–169. doi: 10.1099/00221287-37-2-157. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Novick R. P., Bouanchaud D. The problems of drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. Extrachromosomal nature of drug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1971 Jun 11;182:279–294. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1971.tb30664.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Novick R. P., Clowes R. C., Cohen S. N., Curtiss R., 3rd, Datta N., Falkow S. Uniform nomenclature for bacterial plasmids: a proposal. Bacteriol Rev. 1976 Mar;40(1):168–189. doi: 10.1128/br.40.1.168-189.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Novick R. Properties of a cryptic high-frequency transducing phage in Staphylococcus aureus. Virology. 1967 Sep;33(1):155–166. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(67)90105-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Radloff R., Bauer W., Vinograd J. A dye-buoyant-density method for the detection and isolation of closed circular duplex DNA: the closed circular DNA in HeLa cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1967 May;57(5):1514–1521. doi: 10.1073/pnas.57.5.1514. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ruby C., Novick R. P. Plasmid interactions in Staphylococcus aureus: nonadditivity of compatible plasmid DNA pools. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Dec;72(12):5031–5035. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.12.5031. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sheehy R. J., Novick R. P. Studies on plasmid replication. V Replicative intermediates. J Mol Biol. 1975 Apr 5;93(2):237–253. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(75)90130-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Upholt W. B., Gray H. B., Jr, Vinograd J. Sedimentation velocity behavior of closed circular SV40 DNA as a function of superhelix density, ionic strength, counterion and temperature. J Mol Biol. 1971 Nov 28;62(1):21–38. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90128-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES