5 GENES INVOLVED IN SELF-TRANSMISSION OF PSN22, A STREPTOMYCES PLASMID

An 11-kbp multicopy plasmid, pSN22, was isolated from Streptomyces nigrifaciens SN22. pSN22 is self-transmissible (conjugative), is maintained stably in S. lividans, and forms pocks in a wide range of Streptomyces strains. Mutational analyses showed that a fragment of pSN22 contained five genes involved in plasmid transfer and pock formation. traB was essential for plasmid transfer. traA was required for pock formation, but not for plasmid transfer. spdA or spdB were concerned with pock size; mutations in these genes decreased pock size. The fifth gene, traR, could be deleted together with other genes to give nontransmissible plasmids, but plasmids with insertions or deletions only within traR became nonviable. traR is probably needed to counterbalance the lethal effects of another plasmid gene. Transfer of pSN22 promoted the cotransfer of nontransmissible plasmids and enhanced chromosome recombination between the host and recipient strains, suggesting that plasmid transfer accompanies cytoplasmic mixing.