A new IS4 family insertion sequence, IS4Bsu1, responsible for genetic instability of poly-gamma-glutamic acid production in Bacillus subtilis.

ABSTRACT: Certain Bacillus subtilis strains, such as B. subtilis (natto) starter strains for the manufacture of natto (fermented soybeans), produce capsular poly-gamma-glutamate (gammaPGA). In B. subtilis (natto), gammaPGA synthesis is controlled by the ComP-ComA two-component regulatory system and thereby induced at the beginning of the stationary growth phase. We have found a new insertion sequence (IS), designated IS4Bsu1, in the comP gene of a spontaneous gammaPGA-negative mutant of B. subtilis (natto) NAF4. IS4Bsu1 (1,406 bp), the first IS discovered in B. subtilis, encodes a putative transposase (Tpase) with a predicted M(r) of 34,895 (374 residues) which displays similarity to the Tpases of IS4 family members. Southern blot analyses have identified 6 to 11 copies of IS4Bsu1, among which 6 cop

SUBMITTER: Nagai T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC111298 | biostudies-literature | 2000 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature