Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1980 Jan;141(1):316–326. doi: 10.1128/jb.141.1.316-326.1980

Site-specific recombination between plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus.

E Murphy, R P Novick
PMCID: PMC293588  PMID: 6243624

Abstract

Anomalous recombination between two similar but nonidentical, naturally occurring penicillinase plasmids, pI258 and pI524, leading to duplication and deletion of the beta-lactamase locus, is described. Physical mapping of these plasmids by heteroduplex and restriction analysis revealed that the beta-lactamase loci were homologous and in inverted orientation with respect to one another and that their respective locations were separated by a short region of homology. This intervening region of homology included one copy of a segment that was repeated on pI524 in inverted orientation at a distance of 2.2 kilobase pairs and contained a recognition sequence for a site-specific, rec-independent recombination function that caused reversible inversion of this segment on pI524. It is proposed that site-specific, intermolecular recombination involving this repeated sequence was responsible for the observed results.

Full text

PDF
316

Images in this article

Selected References

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

  1. Asheshov E. H. The genetics of penicillinase production in Staphylococcus aureus strain PS80. J Gen Microbiol. 1969 Dec;59(3):289–301. doi: 10.1099/00221287-59-3-289. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Campbell A., Starlinger P., Berg D. E., Botstein D., Lederberg E. M., Novick R. P., Szybalski W. Nomenclature of transposable elements in prokaryotes. Plasmid. 1979 Jul;2(3):466–473. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(79)90030-1. [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. 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]
  5. Kleckner N., Reichardt K., Botstein D. Inversions and deletions of the Salmonella chromosome generated by the translocatable tetracycline resistance element Tn10. J Mol Biol. 1979 Jan 5;127(1):89–115. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(79)90461-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kleckner N. Translocatable elements in procaryotes. Cell. 1977 May;11(1):11–23. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(77)90313-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kopecko D. J., Brevet J., Cohen S. N. Involvement of multiple translocating DNA segments and recombinational hotspots in the structural evolution of bacterial plasmids. J Mol Biol. 1976 Dec;108(2):333–360. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(76)80124-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Murphy E., Novick R. P. Physical mapping of Staphylococcus aureus penicillinase plasmid pI524: characterization of an invertible region. Mol Gen Genet. 1979 Aug;175(1):19–30. doi: 10.1007/BF00267851. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. NOVICK R. P. ANALYSIS BY TRANSDUCTION OF MUTATIONS AFFECTING PENICILLINASE FORMATION IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. J Gen Microbiol. 1963 Oct;33:121–136. doi: 10.1099/00221287-33-1-121. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. NOVICK R. P., RICHMOND M. H. NATURE AND INTERACTIONS OF THE GENETIC ELEMENTS GOVERNING PENICILLINASE SYNTHESIS IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. J Bacteriol. 1965 Aug;90:467–480. doi: 10.1128/jb.90.2.467-480.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Novick R. P., Brodsky R. Studies on plasmid replication. I. Plasmid incompatibility and establishment in Staphylococcus aureus. J Mol Biol. 1972 Jul 21;68(2):285–302. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(72)90214-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. 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]
  13. Novick R. P., Edelman I., Schwesinger M. D., Gruss A. D., Swanson E. C., Pattee P. A. Genetic translocation in Staphylococcus aureus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Jan;76(1):400–404. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.1.400. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Novick R. P., Murphy E., Gryczan T. J., Baron E., Edelman I. Penicillinase plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus: restriction-deletion maps. Plasmid. 1979 Jan;2(1):109–129. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(79)90010-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Novick R. P. Penicillinase plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus. Fed Proc. 1967 Jan-Feb;26(1):29–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Novick R. P., Roth C. Plasmid-linked resistance to inorganic salts in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol. 1968 Apr;95(4):1335–1342. doi: 10.1128/jb.95.4.1335-1342.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Novick R. P. Studies on plasmid replication. III. Isolation and characterization of replication-defective mutants. Mol Gen Genet. 1974;135(2):131–147. doi: 10.1007/BF00264781. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. 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]
  19. Peyru G., Wexler L. F., Novick R. P. Naturally occurring penicillinase plasmids in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol. 1969 Apr;98(1):215–221. doi: 10.1128/jb.98.1.215-221.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. RICHMOND M. H. DOMINANCE OF THE INDUCIBLE STATE IN STRAINS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS CONTAINING TWO DISTINCT PENICILLINASE PLASMIDS. J Bacteriol. 1965 Aug;90:370–374. doi: 10.1128/jb.90.2.370-374.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. RICHMOND M. H. WILD-TYPE VARIANTS OF EXOPENICILLINASE FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. Biochem J. 1965 Mar;94:584–593. doi: 10.1042/bj0940584. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Reif H. J., Saedler H. IS1 is involved in deletion formation in the gal region of E. coli K12. Mol Gen Genet. 1975;137(1):17–28. doi: 10.1007/BF00332538. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ross D. G., Swan J., Kleckner N. Physical structures of Tn10-promoted deletions and inversions: role of 1400 bp inverted repetitions. Cell. 1979 Apr;16(4):721–731. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(79)90088-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Ross G. W., O'Callaghan C. H. Beta-lactamase assays. Methods Enzymol. 1975;43:69–85. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(75)43081-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sambrook J., Williams J., Sharp P. A., Grodzicker T. Physical mapping of temperature-sensitive mutations of adenoviruses. J Mol Biol. 1975 Sep 25;97(3):369–390. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80046-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. 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]
  27. Smith K., Novick R. P. Genetic studies on plasmid-linked cadmium resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol. 1972 Nov;112(2):761–772. doi: 10.1128/jb.112.2.761-772.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Weil J., Signer E. R. Recombination in bacteriophage lambda. II. Site-specific recombination promoted by the integration system. J Mol Biol. 1968 Jul 14;34(2):273–279. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90252-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Wyman L., Novick R. P. Studies on plasmid replication. IV. Complementation of replication-defective mutants by an incompatibility-deficient plasmid. Mol Gen Genet. 1974;135(2):149–161. doi: 10.1007/BF00264782. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES