Structure and organization of the rrnD operon of 'Brevibacterium lactofermentum': analysis of the 16S rRNA gene.
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Five rRNA operons (rrn) were found by hybridization in the genome of 'Brevibacterium lactofermentum' ATCC 13869 and Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032. 'B. lactofermentum' DSM 20412 differed from the other corynebacteria tested in showing six hybridizing BamHI bands. Two of the rrn operons (rrnD and rrnE) were located in a single cosmid. Sequencing of the rrnD operon showed that it contains a complete 16S rRNA-23S RNA-5S rRNA gene cluster. Phylogenetic studies using the complete 16S rRNA sequence showed that 'B. lactofermentum' is closely related to several species of the genus Corynebacterium but only distantly related to the type species Brevibacterium linens and the authors suggest that it should be reclassified as Corynebacterium lactofermentum. The 5' end of mature 16S rRNA was identified by primer extension. Sequence elements similar to those of mycobacteria implicated in transcription antitermination (Boxes A, B, C) and in processing of the pre-rRNA to 16S rRNA were identified. An open reading frame encoding an rpoD-like sigma factor (named SigC) different from the previously reported SigA and SigB proteins was found upstream of rrnD in the opposite orientation. Both rpoD and sigC seem to be expressed from a bidirectional promoter region. (+info)
Simkania negevensis strain ZT: growth, antigenic and genome characteristics.
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Simkania negevensis is the type species of Simkaniaceae, a recently proposed family in the order Chlamydiales. In the current study, growth, antigenic and genomic characteristics of this intracellular bacterium were investigated and compared to those of members of the family Chlamydiaceae. Growth of the organism, as assessed by infectivity assays, reached a plateau in 2-3 d although by light microscopy the cytopathic effect on the host cells increased for 12 or more days after infection. S. negevensis growth was unaffected by sulfadiazine. Cells infected by S. negevensis strain ZT were not recognized by either of two monoclonal antibodies specific for Chlamydiaceae LPS and several specific Chlamydiaceae ompA primers were unable to PCR amplify a S. negevensis gene. The S. negevensis genome contained one copy of the ribosomal operon. The genome size of S. negevensis strain ZT was determined by PFGE to be 1.7 Mbp, and the G + C content was 42.5 mol%. These data, taken together with other published data, are consistent with the proposal that S. negevensis belongs to a distinct family in the order Chlamydiales. (+info)
Role of genomic rearrangements in producing new ribotypes of Salmonella typhi.
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Salmonella typhi is the only species of Salmonella which grows exclusively in humans, in whom it causes enteric typhoid fever. Strains of S. typhi show very little variation in electrophoretic types, restriction fragment length polymorphisms, cell envelope proteins, and intervening sequences, but the same strains are very heterogeneous for ribotypes which are detected with the restriction endonuclease PstI. In addition, the genome of S. typhi has been proven to undergo genomic rearrangement due to homologous recombination between the seven copies of rrn genes. The relationship between ribotype heterogeneity and genomic rearrangement was investigated. Strains of S. typhi which belong to 23 different genome types were analyzed by ribotyping. A limited number of ribotypes were found within the same genome type group; e. g., most strains of genome type 3 belonged to only two different ribotypes, which result from recombination between rrnH and rrnG operons. Different genome type groups normally have different ribotypes. The size and identity of the PstI fragment containing each of the seven different rrn operons from S. typhi Ty2 were determined, and from these data, one can infer how genomic rearrangement forms new ribotypes. It is postulated that genomic rearrangement, rather than mutation, is largely responsible for producing the ribotype heterogeneity in S. typhi. (+info)
Promoter upstream bent DNA activates the transcription of the Clostridium perfringens phospholipase C gene in a low temperature-dependent manner.
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The phospholipase C gene (plc) of Clostridium perfringens possesses three phased A-tracts forming bent DNA upstream of the promoter. An in vitro transcription assay involving C.perfringens RNA polymerase (RNAP) showed that the phased A-tracts have a stimulatory effect on the plc promoter, and that the effect is proportional to the number of A-tracts, and more prominent at lower temperature. A gel retardation assay and hydroxyl radical footprinting revealed that the phased A-tracts facilitate the formation of the RNAP-plc promoter complex through extension of the contact region. The upstream (UP) element of the Escherichia coli rrnB P1 promoter stimulated the downstream promoter activity temperature independently, differing from the phased A-tracts. When the UP element was placed upstream of the plc promoter, low temperature-dependent stimulation was observed, although this effect was less prominent than that of the phased A-tracts. These results suggest that both the phased A-tracts and UP element cause low temperature-dependent activation of the plc promoter through a similar mechanism, and that the more efficient low temperature-dependent activation by the phased A-tracts may be due to an increase in the bending angle at a lower temperature. (+info)
Discriminant analysis of ribotype profiles of Escherichia coli for differentiating human and nonhuman sources of fecal pollution.
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Estuarine waters receive fecal pollution from a variety of sources, including humans and wildlife. Escherichia coli is a ubiquitous bacterium in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and is used as an indicator of fecal pollution. However, its presence does not specifically differentiate sources of pollution. A total of 238 E. coli isolates from human sources (HS) and nonhuman sources (NHS) were collected from the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, from associated sewage treatment plants, and directly from animals and tested for ribotype (RT) profile. HS and NHS isolates showed 41 and 61 RT profiles, respectively. At a similarity index of ca. 50%, HS and NHS isolates demonstrated four clusters, with the majority of HS and NHS isolates located in clusters C and D; isolates obtained directly from human and animal feces also could be grouped within these clusters. Discriminant analysis (DA) of RT profiles showed that 97% of the NHS isolates and 100% of the animal fecal isolates were correctly classified. The average rate of correct classification for HS and NHS isolates was 82%. We conclude that DA of RT profiles may be a useful method for identifying HS and NHS fecal pollution and may potentially facilitate management practices. (+info)
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a slow-growing pathogen and is characterized by a low content of RNA per unit of DNA. rRNAs represent a major proportion of the total RNA pool, and the entire requirement for rRNA is met by transcription from a single rrn operon that is driven by two promoters, P1 and P3. This study attempted to analyze the specific role of the rrn promoter in determining the characteristically low levels of RNA in M. tuberculosis. For this purpose, the activity of the M. tuberculosis rrn promoter as a function of the growth rate was studied by rrn-lacZ promoter fusion, hybridization, and primer extension analysis in M. smegmatis. rrn promoter signals were faithfully recognized in M. smegmatis cultures harboring the rrn-lacZ promoter construct. In M. smegmatis cultures that displayed doubling times varying between 3.06 and 6.5 h, beta-galactosidase activity increased approximately sixfold in proportion to the growth rate (mu). There was a corresponding increase in the amount of lacZ-specific mRNA, while the plasmid copy number remained essentially unchanged. For any given mu, the P3 promoter was approximately twofold more efficiently utilized than the P1 promoter. Since both promoters of the M. tuberculosis rrn operon are regulatable as a function of growth rate in M. smegmatis cultures, it is implied that the inherent structure or sequence of the rrn promoter per se is not primarily responsible for the observed lack of modulation of RNA synthesis in M. tuberculosis. (+info)
Molecular identification of Lactobacillus hilgardii and genetic relatedness with Lactobacillus brevis.
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Conventional phenotypic methods lead to misidentification of the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus hilgardii and Lactobacillus brevis. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and repetitive element PCR (REP-PCR) techniques were developed for a molecular study of these two species. The taxonomic relationships were confirmed by analysis of the ribosomal operon. Amplified DNA fragments were chosen to isolate L. hilgardii-specific probes. In addition to rapid molecular methods for identification of L. hilgardii, these results convincingly proved that some strains first identified as L. brevis must be reclassified as L. hilgardii. The data clearly showed that these molecular methods are more efficient than phenotypic or biochemical studies for bacterial identification at the species level. (+info)
DNA sequence heterogeneity in the three copies of the long 16S-23S rDNA spacer of Enterococcus faecalis isolates.
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The possibility of intragenic heterogeneity between copies of the long intergenic (16S-23S rDNA) spacer region (LISR) was investigated by specific amplification of this region from 21 Enterococcus faecalis isolates. Three copies of the LISR (rrnA, B and C) were demonstrated by hybridization of the LISR to genomic DNA cleaved with I-Ceul and SmaI. When the LISR amplicon was digested with Tsp509I, two known nucleotide substitutions were detected, one 4 nt upstream from the 5' end of the tRNA(ala) gene (allele rrnB has the Tsp509I site and rrnA and C do not) and the other 22 nt downstream from the 3' end of the tRNA(ala) gene (rrnC has the Tsp509I site). Sequence differences at these sites were detected at the allelic level (alleles rrnA, B and C) and different combinations of these alleles were designated Tsp Types. Using densitometry to analyse bands from electrophoresis gels, the intra-isolate ratios of the separate alleles (rrnA:rrnB:rrnC) were determined in each Tsp Type: I (0:3:0), II (1:2:0), III (2:0:1), IV (3:0:0), V (2:1:0) and VI (1:1:1). Sequence variation between the three copies of the LISR was confirmed by the detection of at least five other intra-isolate nucleotide substitutions using heteroduplex analysis by conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) that were not detected by Tsp509I cleavage. Perpendicular denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was capable of resolving homoduplexes; six to seven out of a possible nine curves were obtained in some isolates. In the isolate where seven curves were obtained one or more further nucleotide substitutions, not detected by Tsp509I cleavage or CSGE, were detected. On the basis of LISR sequence heterogeneity, isolates were categorized into homogeneous (only one allele sequence present) and heterogeneous (two or three allele sequences present). The transition between homogeneous and heterogeneous LISRs may be useful in studying evolutionary mechanisms between E. faecalis isolates. (+info)