Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1965 Dec;90(6):1513–1519. doi: 10.1128/jb.90.6.1513-1519.1965

Variation in Density and Transformation Potential in Deoxyribonucleic Acid from Neisseria meningitidis

Kaare Jyssum 1, Sidsel Jyssum 1
PMCID: PMC315852  PMID: 4955053

Abstract

Jyssum, Kaare (University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway), and Sidsel Jyssum. Variation in density and transformation potential in deoxyribonucleic acid from Neisseria meningitidis. J. Bacteriol. 90:1513–1519. 1965.—Three variants of Neisseria meningitidis have been examined with regard to competence. One is the genetically competent M1-12 his−cp+, the second is the genetically incompetent M1-12 his−cp− which does not revert to competence, and the third is the incompetent mutant M1-18 his−gly−(cp) which reverts to competence. An examination of the relation between the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein contents indicates the existence of more DNA in strain M1-12 his−cp+ than in strain M1-12 his−cp−. DNA prepared from the three strains was examined by density gradient centrifugation. The distribution of DNA in the gradients was unimodal. No significant differences could be observed between the distribution curves obtained from the three test strains. When the distribution in the gradients of transformation potential corresponding to five biochemical markers was measured, a pronounced difference was found among the three test strains. The distribution of the markers in the gradient from strain M1-12 his−cp− was unimodal. In the DNA from strain M1-18 his−gly−(cp), all the markers examined showed bipartite distribution curves with low relative specific transforming activity, corresponding to an area near the middle of the DNA distribution. The strain M1-12 his−cp+ showed a similar bipartite distribution of four biochemical markers, whereas the marker pro had a very high relative specific transforming activity in the area where the other markers tested had a reduced activity. The nature of the DNA with reduced transformation potential which seems to be present in strains M1-12 his−cp+ and M1-18 his−gly−(cp) is discussed in relation to previous observations. The possibility has been presented that the cp factor in N. meningitidis may be a true episome.

Full text

PDF
1513

Selected References

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

  1. BURTON K. A study of the conditions and mechanism of the diphenylamine reaction for the colorimetric estimation of deoxyribonucleic acid. Biochem J. 1956 Feb;62(2):315–323. doi: 10.1042/bj0620315. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. FALKOW S., WOHLHIETER J. A., CITARELLA R. V., BARON L. S. TRANSFER OF EPISOMIC ELEMENTS TO PROTEUS. I. TRANSFER OF F-LINKED CHROMOSOMAL DETERMINANTS. J Bacteriol. 1964 Jan;87:209–219. doi: 10.1128/jb.87.1.209-219.1964. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. GANESAN A. T., LEDERBERG J. PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TRANSFORMING DNA. J Mol Biol. 1964 Sep;9:683–695. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(64)80175-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GUILD W. R. Evidence for intramolecular heterogeneity in pneumococcal DNA. J Mol Biol. 1963 Mar;6:214–229. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(63)80071-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. JOSSE J., KAISER A. D., KORNBERG A. Enzymatic synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid. VIII. Frequencies of nearest neighbor base sequences in deoxyribonucleic acid. J Biol Chem. 1961 Mar;236:864–875. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. JYSSUM K., LIE S. GENETIC FACTORS DETERMINING COMPETENCE IN TRANSFORMATION OF NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS. 1. A PERMANENT LOSS OF COMPETENCE. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand. 1965;63:306–316. doi: 10.1111/apm.1965.63.2.306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. JYSSUM S., JYSSUM K. POLYNUCLEOTIDE PHOSPHORYLASE IN NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand. 1963;59:63–72. doi: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1963.tb01772.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jyssum K. Polarity of chromosome replication in Neisseria meningitidis. J Bacteriol. 1965 Nov;90(5):1182–1187. doi: 10.1128/jb.90.5.1182-1187.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. 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]
  10. Meselson M., Stahl F. W., Vinograd J. EQUILIBRIUM SEDIMENTATION OF MACROMOLECULES IN DENSITY GRADIENTS. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1957 Jul 15;43(7):581–588. doi: 10.1073/pnas.43.7.581. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. NEIDHARDT F. C., MAGASANIK B. Studies on the role of ribonucleic acid in the growth of bacteria. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1960 Jul 29;42:99–116. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(60)90757-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ROLFE R., EPHRUSSI-TAYLOR H. Density differences between genetic markers in Pneumococcal transforming principle. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1961 Sep 15;47:1450–1461. doi: 10.1073/pnas.47.9.1450. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. WOHLHIETER J. A., FALKOW S., CITARELLA R. V., BARON L. S. CHARACTERIZATION OF DNA FROM A PROTEUS STRAIN HARBORING AN EPISOME. J Mol Biol. 1964 Aug;9:576–588. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(64)80228-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES