Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1973 Feb;113(2):763–771. doi: 10.1128/jb.113.2.763-771.1973

Isolation and Characterization of the Fertility Factor P of Vibrio cholerae

Archana Datta a,1, Charlotte D Parker a,2, J A Wohlhieter a, L S Baron a
PMCID: PMC285291  PMID: 4690964

Abstract

Vibrio cholerae strains with the transmissible fertility factor P contained a supercoiled circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) component amounting to between 2 and 6% of the total DNA obtained from the cells. Such a component was not observed in V. cholerae strains lacking the fertility factor. This supercoiled circular DNA was isolated from P+ cells, and the molecular weight was determined by sedimentation velocity experiments and electron microscopy to be approximately 80 million daltons. These supercoiled circular DNA molecules, which have a guanine plus cytosine (G + C) composition of 42%, were concluded to be the extrachromosomal P factor. It was calculated that there is approximately one copy of the P factor per chromosome. A small amount of supercoiled circular DNA was occasionally isolated from the P− strains of V. cholerae. The function of this component, which has a molecular weight of 40 million daltons, is not known. The molecules found in the P− strains were readily distinguished from the P+ circular molecules by their smaller molecular weight and different G + C composition.

Full text

PDF
763

Images in this article

768Image
on p.768

Selected References

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

  1. BHASKARAN K., ROWLEY D. Nutritional studies on Vibrio cholerae. J Gen Microbiol. 1956 Oct;15(2):417–422. doi: 10.1099/00221287-15-2-417. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BHASKARAN K. Recombination of characters between mutant stocks of Vibrio cholerae, strain 162. J Gen Microbiol. 1960 Aug;23:47–54. doi: 10.1099/00221287-23-1-47. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BHASKARAN K. SEGREGATION OF GENETIC FACTORS DURING RECOMBINATION IN VIBRIO CHOLERAE, STRAIN 162. Bull World Health Organ. 1964;30:845–853. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. BURGI E., HERSHEY A. D. Sedimentation rate as a measure of molecular weight of DNA. Biophys J. 1963 Jul;3:309–321. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3495(63)86823-x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bazaral M., Helinski D. R. Characterization of multiple circular DNA forms of colicinogenic factor E-1 from Proteus mirabilis. Biochemistry. 1968 Oct;7(10):3513–3520. doi: 10.1021/bi00850a028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bazaral M., Helinski D. R. Circular DNA forms of colicinogenic factors E1, E2 and E3 from Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1968 Sep 14;36(2):185–194. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90374-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Carlton B. C., Helinski D. R. Heterogeneous circular DNA elements in vegetative cultures of Bacillus megaterium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Oct;64(2):592–599. doi: 10.1073/pnas.64.2.592. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cohen S. N., Miller C. A. Multiple molecular species of circular R-factor DNA isolated from Escherichia coli. Nature. 1969 Dec 27;224(5226):1273–1277. doi: 10.1038/2241273a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cozzarelli N. R., Kelly R. B., Kornberg A. A minute circular DNA from Escherichia coli 15. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1968 Jul;60(3):992–999. doi: 10.1073/pnas.60.3.992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. ENOMOTO M., IINO T. COLONIAL DIMORPHISM IN NONMOTILE SALMONELLA. J Bacteriol. 1963 Sep;86:473–477. doi: 10.1128/jb.86.3.473-477.1963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Goebel W., Schrempf H. Isolation and characterization of supercoiled circular deoxyribonucleic acid from beta-hemolytic strains of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1971 May;106(2):311–317. doi: 10.1128/jb.106.2.311-317.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Helinski D. R., Clewell D. B. Circular DNA. Annu Rev Biochem. 1971;40:899–942. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.40.070171.004343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kline B. C., Helinski D. R. F 1 sex factor of Escherichia coli. Size and purification in the form of a strand-specific relaxation complex of supercoiled deoxyribonucleic acid and protein. Biochemistry. 1971 Dec 21;10(26):4975–4980. doi: 10.1021/bi00802a022. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Leavitt R. W., Wohlhieter J. A., Johnson E. M., Olson G. E., Baron L. S. Isolation of circular deoxyribonucleic acid from Salmonella typhosa hybrids obtained from matings with Escherichia coli Hfr donors. J Bacteriol. 1971 Dec;108(3):1357–1365. doi: 10.1128/jb.108.3.1357-1365.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lee C. S., Davidson N. Covalently closed minicircular DNA in Micrococcus lysodeikticus. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1968 Sep 6;32(5):757–762. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(68)90304-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. MACHATTIE L. A., BERNE K. I., THOMAS C. A., Jr ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF DNA FROM HEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE. J Mol Biol. 1965 Mar;11:648–649. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(65)80019-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. MARMUR J., ROWND R., FALKOW S., BARON L. S., SCHILDKRAUT C., DOTY P. The nature of intergeneric episomal infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1961 Jul 15;47:972–979. doi: 10.1073/pnas.47.7.972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Nisioka T., Mitani M., Clowes R. Composite circular forms of R factor deoxyribonucleic acid molecules. J Bacteriol. 1969 Jan;97(1):376–385. doi: 10.1128/jb.97.1.376-385.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Parker C., Richardson S. H., Romig W. R. Production of Bacteriophage-Associated Materials by Vibrio cholerae: Possible Correlation with Pathogenicity. Infect Immun. 1970 Apr;1(4):417–420. doi: 10.1128/iai.1.4.417-420.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. 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]
  21. Roth T. F., Helinski D. R. Evidence for circular DNA forms of a bacterial plasmid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1967 Aug;58(2):650–657. doi: 10.1073/pnas.58.2.650. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Rush M. G., Gordon C. N., Novick R. P., Warner R. C. Penicillinase plasmid DNA from Staphylococcus aureus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Aug;63(4):1304–1310. doi: 10.1073/pnas.63.4.1304. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Rush M. G., Gordon C. N., Warner R. C. Circular deoxyribonucleic acid from Shigella dysenteriae Y6R. J Bacteriol. 1969 Nov;100(2):803–808. doi: 10.1128/jb.100.2.803-808.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. SCHILDKRAUT C. L., MARMUR J., DOTY P. Determination of the base composition of deoxyribonucleic acid from its buoyant density in CsCl. J Mol Biol. 1962 Jun;4:430–443. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(62)80100-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Smith H. W., Halls S. The transmissible nature of the genetic factor in Escherichia coli that controls haemolysin production. J Gen Microbiol. 1967 Apr;47(1):153–161. doi: 10.1099/00221287-47-1-153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Takeya K., Shimodori S. New method for the detection of a lethal factor in vibrios. J Bacteriol. 1969 Jul;99(1):339–340. doi: 10.1128/jb.99.1.339-340.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Vinograd J., Lebowitz J., Radloff R., Watson R., Laipis P. The twisted circular form of polyoma viral DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 May;53(5):1104–1111. doi: 10.1073/pnas.53.5.1104. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES