Linear pBR322 Research Articles

Rapid identification of microorganisms by circular-intensity differential scattering.

There is a pressing need in clinical medicine for rapid identification of microorganisms. We describe a method that has the potential for such rapid identification: circular-intensity differential scattering, which is based on the differential scattering of left and right circularly polarized light. The scanning time required to obtain the spectral signature of an organism is about 4 min. Using a commercial circular dichrograph modified to measure circular intensity differential scattering at 90 degrees, we obtained significantly different spectra for five different crude influenza viruses. Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100, and Escherichia coli HB101, HB101(pBR322), and HB101(pMB9). Purified supercoiled plasmid pBR322 DNA was readily distinguishable from linear pBR322 DNA; such differences in nucleic acid packaging may be significant factors in the discriminatory power of this technique.

Structure-activity relationships involved in the site-specific fragmentation of linear duplex DNAs by talisomycin and bleomycin analogs.

The fragmentation of Hind III- and Pst I-digested PM2 DNA and of Hind III-digested pBR322 DNA by bleomycin A2 and B2 and talisomycins A, B, S2b, and S10b was investigated. As observed by electrophoresis on agarose gels, the ethidium bromide staining band patterns produced following incubation of the various restriction endonuclease-digested DNAs with the compounds were different for the bleomycin analogs and for the talisomycin analogs. Quantitation of the degree of fragmentation of various segments of linear PM2 DNA by either bleomycin A2 or talisomycin A indicated that certain segments of the PM2 genome serve as better substrates than other segments for double-strand fragmentation by either of the two antitumor antibiotics. These results show that in this system bleomycin and talisomycin analog treatment of linear PM2 or pBR322 DNA resulted in breakage of DNA, producing different-length DNA fragments, and demonstrate the importance of the two amino acids and the 4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-L-talose sugar, which are located near the bithiazole in talisomycin but absent in the bleomycin structure in conferring a different site-specificity for DNA fragmentation to talisomycin than to bleomycin.

The site-specific deletion in plasmid pBR322

The formation of a deletion derivative of plasmid pBR322, designated pBR322Δl, was observed during cloning of various eukaryotic DNAs, when the BamHI site of the plasmid vector was used for construction of the recombinant molecules. The restriction analysis of six independently isolated pBR322Δl plasmids allowed establishment of their complete identity. Similar deletion derivatives were also formed as a result of transformation of Escherichia coli cells by the linear form of vector pBR322 produced by BamHI cleavage, but not by SalI or HindIII. The endpoints of the deletion in one of the pBR322Δl plasmids occurred at positions 375 and 1666 bp from the EcoRI site, as determined by sequence analysis. Formation of pBR322Δ1 is most probably due to site-specific recombination between the sequence in the 1666–1670 bp region and the BamHI end of the linear pBR322 molecule. The deletion was not controlled by the recA system of the host bacteria.

Efficient transformation of Serratia marcescens with pBR322 plasmid DNA

Eight Serratia marcescens strains tested could be transformed with the plasmid pBR322. Transformants were selected on the basis of resistance to high levels of ampicillin (400 to 500 μg/ml). For six of the strains, the CaCl 2-mediated transformation procedure developed for Escherichia coli was successful. For the other two strains, no transformants were obtained with the CaCl 2-mediated transformation procedure unless the cells first received a heat treatment. Transformation frequency was dependent on DNA concentration, and no transformation was detected with linear pBR322 DNA. The stability and copy number of pBR322 were similar in S. marcescens and E. coli. As in E. coli, the pBR322 DNA was amplified in S. marcescens after inhibition of protein synthesis. Based on these results, cloning in S. marcescens should be possible and pBR322 should be a useful cloning vehicle.