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Molecular characterization of the resolvase gene, res , carried by a multicopy plasmid from Clostridium perfringens : common evolutionary origin for prokaryotic site‐specific recombinases
Author(s) -
Garnier T.,
Saurin W.,
Cole S. T.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1987.tb01944.x
Subject(s) - biology , recombinase , plasmid , clostridium perfringens , gene , genetics , tn3 transposon , site specific recombination , recombination , mutant , bacteria , transposable element
Summary Clostridium perfringens strain CPN50 harbours a 10.2 kb plasmid known as plP404 which, in addition to a set of UV‐inducible genes involved in bacteriocin production, carries res, a gene probably encoding a site‐specific recombinase. The RES protein is highly homologous to the resolvases of transposons from both Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria as well as enzymes involved in site‐specific DNA inversion. A likely role for the RES protein would be to stabilize plP404 by reducing the number of plasmid multimers resulting from homologous recombination. A putative resolution site for RES action was found overlapping the res promoter. Phylogenetic analysis of the primary structures of ten site‐specific recombinases suggested a common descent and showed the RES protein to be closest to the resolvase encoded by Tn917 from Strepfococcus faecalis.