title: Site-specific recombination between plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus.
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.
mesh_terms: D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005796:Genes; D009692:Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes / Q000235:genetics; D010405:Penicillinase / Q000235:genetics*; D010957:Plasmids; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D009692:Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D010405:Penicillinase; D001618:beta-Lactamases