Summary
We show that a DNA fragment that contains the uvp1 gene of the plasmid pR directs the synthesis in Escherichia coli minicells of a protein of apparent molecular weight 20 kDa. Inspection of the nucleotide sequence of the region reveals an open reading frame that has the capacity to encode a protein of 198 amino acids. The uvp1 gene product has been found, in two different systems, to enhance the recombination activity of E. coli cells. We have also observed a striking similarity to resolvase and invertase proteins. The significance of this finding for the function of the uvp1 gene product requires further investigation. We conclude that the uvp1 gene encodes a 20 kDa protein which appears to be responsible for enhancement of both UV survival and recominational activity in E. coli.
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Communicated by B.J. Kilbey
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Gigliani, F., Sporeno, E., Perri, S. et al. The uvp1 gene of plasmid pR cooperates with mucAB genes in the DNA repair process. Mol Gen Genet 218, 18–24 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330560
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330560