Table 1.

Degenerate primers used in the gene screening.

Gene	Primer	Sequence (5′ →3′)	Degeneracy* (%)	Conserved motif
argH	argH-F	AAYGAYCARRTNGCNACNGA	35	NDQ(V/I)ATD
	argH-R	TCNGGRTTYTTYTTYTGNGGCAT	26	MPQKKNPD
ilvD	ilvD-F	ATGTWYACVGCNAAYWCNATG	33	M(F/Y)TAN(S/T)M
	ilvD-R	GARAARAANCKVCCRTCNGT	35	SGGT(S/W)G
leuB	leuB-F	GGNGAYGGHATHGGBCCBGA	30	GDGIGPE
	leuB-R	TCVGAVARDATRTCGCCRAA	30	FGDILSD
metE	metE-F	AACTAYCACTAYMTVGTVCCNGA	26	NYHY(M/I/L)VPE
	metE-R	CCRCARTCHGGRTTNAYCCA	30	W(V/I)NPDCG
thrC	thrC-F	GCDACNTCNGGBGAYACNGG	30	ATSGDTG
	thrC-R	TYNCCRAARTTNCCNSWNGG	45	PSGNFG(D/N)
trpB	trpB-F	GTNHTNGGNCARGCNYTNYTNGC	43	V(L/I)GQALLA
	trpB-R	TCNCCNCGNCCNGANAGRTT	30	NLSGRGD

^*Primer degeneracy was measured as the proportion of ambiguous sites.