title: Functional analysis of ori1 and repA of the R-plasmid pSJ5.6 from Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
abstract: The functional ori1 of the 5.6kb gonococcal R-plasmid pSJ5.6 contains an A-T rich region followed by four 22bp direct repeats and one 19bp inverted repeat. The replication region of the plasmid also contains a gene encoding for a 39kD RepA protein. We have further assessed the functionality of the replication region in pSJ5.6, an-iteron type plasmid, using in vivo complementation assays in Escherichia coli. A 2.1kb PstI-RsaI fragment containing the ori1 and repA gene of pSJ5.6 was cloned into vector pZErO -2 to obtain pZA-MRR. The pUC origin in pZA-MRR was deleted to render the plasmid dependable on the cis-acting ori1 for replication. The resulting plasmid, pMRR, was capable of replication and maintenance in E. coli. We also cloned the ori1 and repA gene separately to obtain pA-Ori and pZG-Rep, respectively. Using in vivo complementation assays, we demonstrated that the ori1(+) plasmid (pA-Ori) was maintained only when the RepA protein was supplied in trans by the high copy number plasmid pZG-Rep.
authors.affiliation: Lilly del Caribe Inc, Carolina, Puerto Rico 00986, USA. fong_jon@lilly.com
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fong-Chong
authors.forename: Nydia M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Bonano
authors.forename: Livier
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: González-Cordero
authors.forename: Luis J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Torres-Bauzá
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics*; D011815:R Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D018741:Replication Origin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins