Cloning and characterization of the dcm locus of Escherichia coli K-12

The dcm locus of Escherichia coli K-12 has been shown to code for a methylase that methylates the second cytosine within the sequence 5'-CC(A/T)GG-3'. This sequence is also recognized by the EcoRII restriction-modification system coded by the E. coli plasmid N3. The methylase within the EcoRII system methylates the same cytosine as the dcm protein. We have isolated, from a library of E. coli K-12 DNA, two overlapping clones that carry the dcm locus. We show that the two clones carry overlapping sequences that are present in a dcm+ strain, but are absent in a delta dcm strain. We also show that the cloned gene codes for a methylase, that it complements mutations in the EcoRII methylase, and that it protects EcoRII recognition sites from cleavage by the EcoRII endonuclease. We found no phage restriction activity associated with the dcm clones.