Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1975 Dec;124(3):1240–1247. doi: 10.1128/jb.124.3.1240-1247.1975

Genetic and physical characteristics of an enterotoxin plasmid.

D S Santos, S Palchaudhuri, W K Maas
PMCID: PMC236033  PMID: 1104580

Abstract

We are engaged in the genetic and physical characterization of an enterotoxin (Ent) plasmid, Ent P307, which contains genes for the production of a hear-labile and a heat-stable enterotoxin. We are using an Escherichia coli K-12 strain, 711 (P307), constructed by S. Falkow, which contains no other plasmids besides Ent P307. Our genetic studies have shown that the plasmid is incompatible with the sex factor F, both in the integrated (Hfr) and the autonomous (F-prime) state. Ent P307 can thus be assigned to incompatibility group FI. An R factor, R386, which belongs to the same incompatibility group, was also found to be incompatibile with Ent P307, whereas five other R factors belonging to different incompatibility groups were compatible with Ent P307. In the presence of Ent P307, conjugal transfer and sensitivity to a male-specific phage of a derepressed F-like R factor, R1drd19, were repressed. Ent P307 is, thus, finO+. Presumably, it also causes repression of its own transfer genes since conjugal transfer of Ent P307 could not be demonstrated. Unlike F, it does not restrict the growth of female-specific phage phiII. From physical studies on extracted deoxyribonucleic acid, the molecular weight of Ent P307 was determined to be 54 X 10(6). By electron microscope heteroduplex analysis, the plasmid was found to be homologous with F in four regions, encompassing about half of its length. One long region and two short ones contain genes for conjugal transfer; the other short region carries genes for replication and incompatibility.

Full text

PDF
1240

Images in this article

1244Image
on p.1244
1245Image
on p.1245

Selected References

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

  1. Anthony W. M., Deonier R. C., Lee H. J., Hu S., Otsubo E., Davidson N., Broda P. Electron microscope heteroduplex studies of sequence relations among plasmids of Escherichia coli. IX. Note on the deletion mutant of F, F delta(33-43). J Mol Biol. 1974 Nov 15;89(4):647–650. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(74)90041-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. 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]
  3. Cohen S. N., Miller C. A. Non-chromosomal antibiotic resistance in bacteria. II. Molecular nature of R-factors isolated from Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1970 Jun 28;50(3):671–687. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90092-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DeVries J. K., Maas W. K. Description of an incompatibility mutant of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1973 Jul;115(1):213–220. doi: 10.1128/jb.115.1.213-220.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Demerec M., Adelberg E. A., Clark A. J., Hartman P. E. A proposal for a uniform nomenclature in bacterial genetics. Genetics. 1966 Jul;54(1):61–76. doi: 10.1093/genetics/54.1.61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dennison S. Naturally occurring R factor, derepressed for pilus synthesis, belonging to the same compatibility group as the sex factor F of Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1972 Jan;109(1):416–422. doi: 10.1128/jb.109.1.416-422.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Donta S. T., Smith D. M. Stimulation of steroidogenesis in tissue culture by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and its neutralization by specific antiserum. Infect Immun. 1974 Mar;9(3):500–505. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.3.500-505.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dubnau E., Maas W. K. Inhibition of replication of an F'lac episome in Hfr cells of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1968 Feb;95(2):531–539. doi: 10.1128/jb.95.2.531-539.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Evans D. J., Jr, Evans D. G., Gorbach S. L. Production of vascular permeability factor by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from man. Infect Immun. 1973 Nov;8(5):725–730. doi: 10.1128/iai.8.5.725-730.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Falkow S., Guerry P., Hedges R. W., Datta N. Polynucleotide sequence relationships among plasmids of the I compatibility complex. J Gen Microbiol. 1974 Nov;85(1):65–76. doi: 10.1099/00221287-85-1-65. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fitzgerald T. J., Miller J. N., Sykes J. A. Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain) in tissue cultures: cellular attachment, entry, and survival. Infect Immun. 1975 May;11(5):1141–1146. doi: 10.1128/iai.11.5.1141-1146.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Freifelder D. R., Freifelder D. Studies on Escherichia coli sex factors. I. Specific labeling of F'Lac DNA. J Mol Biol. 1968 Feb 28;32(1):15–23. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90141-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gasson M. J., Willetts N. S. Five control systems preventing transfer of Escherichia coli K-12 sex factor F. J Bacteriol. 1975 May;122(2):518–525. doi: 10.1128/jb.122.2.518-525.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gyles C., So M., Falkow S. The enterotoxin plasmids of Escherichia coli. J Infect Dis. 1974 Jul;130(1):40–49. doi: 10.1093/infdis/130.1.40. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. LOEB T., ZINDER N. D. A bacteriophage containing RNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1961 Mar 15;47:282–289. doi: 10.1073/pnas.47.3.282. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lang D., Mitani M. Simplified quantitative electron microscopy of biopolymers. Biopolymers. 1970;9(3):373–379. doi: 10.1002/bip.1970.360090310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Palchaudhuri S. R., Mazaitis A. J., Maas W. K., Kleinschmidt A. K. Characterization by electron microscopy of fused F-prime factors in Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 Jul;69(7):1873–1876. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.7.1873. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Reeves P., Willetts N. Plasmid specificity of the origin of transfer of sex factor F. J Bacteriol. 1974 Oct;120(1):125–130. doi: 10.1128/jb.120.1.125-130.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sharp P. A., Cohen S. N., Davidson N. Electron microscope heteroduplex studies of sequence relations among plasmids of Escherichia coli. II. Structure of drug resistance (R) factors and F factors. J Mol Biol. 1973 Apr 5;75(2):235–255. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(73)90018-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sharp P. A., Hsu M. T., Otsubo E., Davidson N. Electron microscope heteroduplex studies of sequence relations among plasmids of Escherichia coli. I. Structure of F-prime factors. J Mol Biol. 1972 Nov 14;71(2):471–497. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(72)90363-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Silver R. P., Falkow S. Specific labeling and physical characterization of R-factor deoxyribonucleic acid in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1970 Oct;104(1):331–339. doi: 10.1128/jb.104.1.331-339.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. So M., Crosa J. H., Falkow S. Polynucleotide sequence relationships among Ent plasmids and the relationship between Ent and other plasmids. J Bacteriol. 1975 Jan;121(1):234–238. doi: 10.1128/jb.121.1.234-238.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Willetts N. Mapping loci for surface exclusion and incompatibility on the F factor of Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1974 Jun;118(3):778–782. doi: 10.1128/jb.118.3.778-782.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Willetts N., Maule J. Interactions between the surface exclusion systems of some F-like plasmids. Genet Res. 1974 Aug;24(1):81–89. doi: 10.1017/s0016672300015093. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Willetts N. The genetics of transmissible plasmids. Annu Rev Genet. 1972;6:257–268. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.06.120172.001353. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES