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V Hershfield

Publications and source records attributed to V Hershfield.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Gene cloning and containment properties of plasmid Col E1 and its derivatives.

Colicinogenic plasmid E1 (Col E1) and Col E1 derivatives offer advantages as plasmid cloning vehicles with regard to both utility and biological containment. The Col E1 derivative pCR1 does not alter those essential characteristics of the enfeebled Escherichia coli strain x1776 that make this strain particularly useful as a host-vehicle system for recombinant DNA research.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Characterization of a mini-ColC1 plasmid.

An in vitro constructed plasmid, pVH15, consisting of the entire genome of the plasmid ColE1, the tryptophan operon of Escherichia coli, and regions of the bacteriophage PHI80pt190, spontaneously gave rise in E. coli to a mini-ColE1 plasmid consisting of approximately one-half of the ColE1 genome and a small segment of phi80pt190 DNA. This mini-ColE1 plasmid, designated pVH51, has a molecular weight of approximately 2.1 X 10(6) and possesses a single EcoRI restriction site. Heteroduplex analyses showed that about 90% of the pVH51 plasmid hybridizes to about 50% of the ColE1 plasmid. Phenotypically, pVH51 did not produce colicin E1 but conferred immunity to this colicin. The number of mini-ColE1 plasmid molecules per cell was maintained at a four- to fivefold higher level than normal ColE1. A mini-ColE1 hybrid plasmid, designated pML21 and consisting of pVH51 and the kan fragment of plasmid pSC105 inserted at the EcoRI restriction site of mini-ColE1, was maintained at a lower copy number level than pVH51. As in the case of normal ColE1, both pVH51 and pML21 continued to replicate in the presence of chloramphenicol. The promotion of conjugal transfer of pVH51 and pML21 by a self-transmissible plasmid was greatly reduced compared with normal ColE1.

Chloramphenicol↗

A restriction endonuclease analysis of the bacterial plasmid controlling the ecoRI restriction and modification of DNA.

Genetic analyses of DNA restriction and modification mechanisms have been encumbered by the inability to rigorously select for mutant phenotypes associated with these systems. The application of restriction endonucleases has now proved to be a successful approach to the genetic analyses of small genomes that are recalcitrant to the more standard genetic techniques. Restriction endonucleases EcoRI and HindIII were used to analyze the structure of the plasmid genome responsible for the EcoRI restriction endonuclease and modification methylase. This plasmid in the original clinical isolate of Escherichia coli appears to be identical to the ColE 1 plasmid except for a 1.95 kilobase pair segment which contains these genes. A preliminary restriction map of this plasmid is presented.

Base Sequence↗

Plasmid ColEl as a molecular vehicle for cloning and amplification of DNA.

DNA fragments obtained from EcoRI endonuclease digestion of bacteriophage varphi80pt190 (trp(+)) and the plasmid ColE1 were covalently joined with polynucleotide ligase. Transformation of Escherichia coli trp(-) strains to tryptophan independence with the recombined DNA selected for reconstituted ColE1 plasmids containing the tryptophan operon and the varphi80 immunity region. Similarly, an EcoRI endonuclease generated fragment of plasmid pSC105 DNA containing the genetic determinant of kanamycin resistance was inserted into the ColE1 plasmid and recovered in E. coli. The plasmids containing the trp operon (ColE1-trp) and the kanamycin resistance gene were maintained under logarithmic growth conditions at a level of 25-30 copies per cell and accumulate to the extent of several hundred copies per cell in the presence of chloramphenicol. Cells carrying the ColE1-trp plasmid determined the production of highly elevated levels of trp operon-specific mRNA and tryptophan biosynthetic enzymes.

Chloramphenicol↗