Modulation of pPS10 host range by plasmid-encoded RepA initiator protein.

We report here the isolation and analysis of novel repA host range mutants of pPS10, a plasmid originally found in Pseudomonas savastanoi. Upon hydroxylamine treatment, five plasmid mutants were selected for their establishment in Escherichia coli at 37 degrees C, a temperature at which the wild-type form cannot be established. The mutations were located in different functional regions of the plasmid RepA initiation protein, and the mutants differ in their stable maintenance, copy number, and ability to interact with sequences of the basic replicon.

Modulation of pPS10 host range by DnaA.

Narrow-host-range plasmid pPS10, originally found in Pseudomonas savastanoi, is unable to replicate in other strains such as Escherichia coli. Here, we report that the establishment of pPS10 in E. coli can be achieved by a triple mutation in the dnaA gene of E.

A leucine zipper motif determines different functions in a DNA replication protein.

RepA is the replication initiator protein of the Pseudomonas plasmid pPS10 and is also able to autoregulate its own synthesis. Here we report a genetic and functional analysis of a leucine zipper-like (LZ) motif located at the N-terminus of RepA. It is shown that the LZ motif modulates the equilibrium between monomeric and dimeric forms of the protein and that monomers of RepA interact with sequences at the origin of replication, oriV, while dimers are required for interactions of RepA at the repA promoter.

The heat-shock DnaK protein is required for plasmid R1 replication and it is dispensable for plasmid ColE1 replication.

Plasmid R1 replication in vitro is inactive in extracts prepared from a dnaK756 strain but is restored to normal levels upon addition of purified DnaK protein. Replication of R1 in extracts of a dnaKwt strain can be specifically inhibited with polyclonal antibodies against DnaK. RepA-dependent replication of R1 in dnaK756 extracts supplemented with DnaKwt protein at maximum concentration is partially inhibited by rifampicin and it is severely inhibited at sub-optimal concentrations of DnaK protein.

Genetic and functional analysis of the basic replicon of pPS10, a plasmid specific for Pseudomonas isolated from Pseudomonas syringae patovar savastanoi.

The sequence of a 1823 base-pair region containing the replication functions of pPS10, a narrow host-range plasmid isolated from a strain of Pseudomonas savastanoi, is reported. The origin of replication, oriV, or pPS10 is contained in a 535 base-pair fragment of this sequence that can replicate in the presence of trans-acting function(s) of the plasmid. oriV contains four iterons of 22 base-pairs that are preceded by G+C-rich and A+T-rich regions.