IS1397 is active for transposition into the chromosome of Escherichia coli K-12 and inserts specifically into palindromic units of bacterial interspersed mosaic elements.
We demonstrate that IS1397, a putative mobile genetic element discovered in natural isolates of Escherichia coli, is active for transposition into the chromosome of E. coli K-12 and inserts specifically into palindromic units, also called repetitive extragenic palindromes, the basic element of bacterial interspersed mosaic elements (BIMEs), which are found in intergenic regions of enterobacteria closely related to E. coli and Salmonella. We could not detect transposition onto a plasmid carrying BIMEs. This unprecedented specificity of insertion into a well-characterized chromosomal intergenic repeated element and its evolutionary implications are discussed.
Clément
J M
JM
Unité de Programmation Moléculaire et Toxicologie Génétique, CNRS URA 1444, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. jclement@pasteur.fr
Wilde
C
C
Bachellier
S
S
Lambert
P
P
Hofnung
M
M
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements