ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL INSERTION-SEQUENCE ELEMENT, IS1248, IN PARACOCCUS-DENITRIFICANS

A new suicide vector, pRVS3, was constructed to facilitate gene replacements in the genome of Paracoccus denitrificans. In control experiments, incorporation of this suicide vector into the genome did not depend on the presence of homologous DNA. Using appropriate restriction enzymes, the suicide vector and flanking DNA were recovered from the genomic DNA. Sequence analysis demonstrated that both up- and downstream of the ex-integrant vector there was an element that showed high homology with bacterial insertion sequences (IS). Southern blot analysis of wild-type and integrant strains revealed that at least four copies of this IS element reside in the P. denitrificans genome, one of which, designated IS1248, had been involved in the transpositional event described here. IS1248 is 830 bp long, has 13-bp imperfect inverted repeats at the borders, and contains five open reading frames. With respect to the organization and primary sequences of the open reading frames, IS1248 closely resembles IS869 and IS427 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, IS402 of Pseudomonas cepacia, and ISmyco found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.