title: Cloning of the rfb gene cluster of a group C2 Salmonella strain: comparison with the rfb regions of groups B and D.
abstract: We report the cloning and mapping of the entire rfb gene cluster of a group C2 Salmonella strain. Comparison with the rfb region of group B strain LT2 and group D strain Ty2 reveals an 11.8 kb central region of limited similarity flanked by regions of high similarity. The genes from the central region confer a group C2 O-antigen structure on a Salmonella LT2 partial delete strain. The significance of this region in relation to function and evolutionary origin is discussed. We also report evidence for the existence of an O-antigen chain-length determinant in Escherichia coli K12 and propose a model for a possible mechanism by which a preferred chain length is determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Romana
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Reeves
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003360:Cosmids / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D019081:O Antigens; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012475:Salmonella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D019081:O Antigens