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J. Bacteriol., 01 1998, 65-72, Vol 180, No. 1
AG Klann, AE Belanger, A Abanes-De Mello, JY Lee and GF Hatfull
We have isolated a UV-induced temperature-sensitive mutant of Mycobacterium
smegmatis that fails to grow at 42 degrees C and exhibits a filamentous
phenotype following incubation at the nonpermissive temperature,
reminiscent of a defect in cell division. Complementation of this mutant
with an M. smegmatis genomic library and subsequent subcloning reveal that
the defect lies within the M. smegmatis dnaG gene encoding DNA primase.
Sequence analysis of the mutant dnaG allele reveals a substitution of
proline for alanine at position 496. Thus, dnaG is an essential gene in M.
smegmatis, and DNA replication and cell division are coupled processes in
this species. Characterization of the sequences flanking the M. smegmatis
dnaG gene shows that it is not part of the highly conserved macromolecular
synthesis operon present in other eubacterial species but is part of an
operon with a dgt gene encoding dGTPase. The organization of this operon is
conserved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae,
suggesting that regulation of DNA replication, transcription, and
translation may be coordinated differently in the mycobacteria than in
other bacteria.
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology
Characterization of the dnaG locus in Mycobacterium smegmatis reveals linkage of DNA replication and cell division [In Process Citation]
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
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