Open AccessSpontaneous deletion formation within the beta-galactosidase gene of Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Author(s) -
Beat Mollet,
Michèle Delley
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.172.10.5670-5676.1990
Subject(s) - biology , gene , genetics , dna , lactobacillus , mutation , point mutation , direct repeat , inverted repeat , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , genome
To investigate the genetic stability of the dairy organism Lactobacillus bulgaricus, we have analyzed 107 spontaneous mutations of the beta-galactosidase gene of this organism. Ten of these mutations were DNA rearrangements giving rise to different deletions, located predominantly within a small hot spot area. The DNA sequences of the different deletion junctions have been determined. The analysis showed that the deletions can be divided into two classes, depending on the presence of short direct-repeat sequences at the deletion endpoints and on the length of the deleted sequences. Possible mechanisms of these deletion formations and the involvement of inverted-repeat sequences that may enhance slipped DNA mispairing are discussed.