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The E. coli cell surface: On the genetic organization of the tolP AB cluster

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Summary

Strongly polar mutations in the tolP AB cluster have been isolated using bacteriophage Mu. Complementation tests with these Mu-induced mutants indicated that tolP and tolA are co-transcribed in a clockwise direction, and that tolB is independently transcribed.

In addition, the transduction behaviour of bacteriophage λdtol-29 is described. This transducing phage appears to carry all of tolB and tolA, and terminate in tolP. With tolB and tolP recipients, λdtol-29 transduced as expected (by complementation and recombination, respectively). With a tolA recipient, λdtol-29 behaved anomalously. Transduction frequencies were reduced 20-fold (compared to a tolB recipient), and two distinct sizes of transduction colonies arose on the deoxycholate selection plates. Analysis of these colonies showed that all the large colonies arose by recombination-transduction, while all the small colonies arose by complementation-transduction. These observations are in agreement with the results obtained with the Mu-induced mutants; furthermore, they suggest that either a weak internal promoter exists between tolP and tolA, or that the tolA cistron on λdtol-29 is under the control of λ gene Q.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Alan Bernstein

  2. Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto, Canada

    Alan Bernstein

  3. Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, Lincoln's Inn Fields, P.O. Box 123, WC2A 3PX, London, England

    Alan Bernstein

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  1. Alan Bernstein
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Communicated by G. Bertani

Research Fellow of the National Cancer Institute of Canada.

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Bernstein, A. The E. coli cell surface: On the genetic organization of the tolP AB cluster. Molec. Gen. Genet. 123, 111–121 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267328

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267328

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