title: Anabaena xisF gene encodes a developmentally regulated site-specific recombinase.
abstract: Two DNA elements are excised from the chromosome during Anabaena heterocyst differentiation. We have identified the gene xisF which encodes the site-specific recombinase responsible for the excision of a 55-kb element from within the fdxN gene. The cloned xisF gene is sufficient to cause site-specific rearrangement of an artificial substrate in Escherichia coli. Inactivation of xisF in the Anabaena chromosome prevents excision of the fdxN element and growth in nitrogen-deficient medium but does not alter the development of heterocysts. Forced transcription of xisF in vegetative cells did not result in excision of the fdxN element, suggesting that other factors may be involved in cell-type specificity. The predicted XisF protein shows significant similarity to the Bacillus subtilis SpoIVCA recombinase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-3258.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ramaswamy
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Ramasubramanian
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Golden
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017033:Anabaena / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D019426:Integrases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D045522:Recombinases; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012808:Sigma Factor; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014157:Transcription Factors
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C092468:spoIIR protein, Bacillus subtilis; C030069:spore-specific proteins, Bacillus; D004247:DNA; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D019426:Integrases; C085442:XisF protein, Anabaena sp.; C115006:integron integrase IntI1