Functioning of the TA cassette of streptococcal plasmid pSM19035 in various Gram-positive bacteria.
Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are common in microorganisms and are frequently found in the chromosomes and low-copy number plasmids of bacterial pathogens. One such system is carried by the low copy number plasmid pSM19035 of the pathogenic bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes. This plasmid encodes an omega-epsilon-zeta cassette that ensures its stable maintenance by post-segregational killing of plasmid-free cells. In this study, the activity of the ω-ε-ζ cassette was examined in various Gram-positive bacteria with a low G/C content in their DNA. The broad host range of pSM19035 was confirmed and the copy number of a truncated derivative in transformed strains was determined by real-time qPCR.
Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Pawińskiego 5A, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland.
Iwona
I
Brzozowska
Kinga
K
Brzozowska
Urszula
U
Zielenkiewicz
D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D001482:Base Composition; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D018628:Gene Dosage; D056426:Genetic Loci; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000235:genetics*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics
D001427:Bacterial Toxins