Summary
We report that plasmid R46 provides a function which promotes recA-independent deletion, replicon fusion, and resolution of the fusion. R46 belongs to the incompatibility group N and specifies resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin and sulfonamide. Four kinds of deletion derivatives were observed by selection for susceptability to tetracycline from ampicillin-resistant clones. A common region, will be called α region thereafter, was postulated to be involved in these deletions. The replicon fusion occurred by a conjugative mobilization of each derivative with plasmid R388. The fusion was suggested to contain both replicons linked at each junction by the sequence in the α region in direct orientation. The resolution of the replicon fusion was found between two α regions and a consequently generated, parental deletion derivative and an R388 derivative which gained one α region. It is possible that the α region contains one potential Insertion Sequence (IS) element. These events were also speculated to occur as a consequence of insertion of the potential IS onto the intramolecular or intermolecular target sequence, or reciprocal recombination between two potential IS elements.
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Communicated by F. Kaudewitz
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Yamamoto, T., Motegi, A., Takei, T. et al. Plasmid R46 provides a function that promotes recA-independent deletion, fusion and resolution of replicon. Molec Gen Genet 193, 255–262 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330677
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330677