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Cloning of two chloramphenicol acetyltransferase genes from Clostridium butyricum and their expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis

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Summary

Two non-homologous chloramphenicol (Cm) acetyltransferase (CAT) genes, designated catA and catB, were cloned from Clostridium butyricum type strains and characterized by restriction mapping. Both genes are efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. In contrast to analogous genes from staphylococci and bacilli, gene expression is not dependent on induction by Cm. The genes are considered as chromosomal, since no association with endogenous plasmids was detectable. Southern hybridization revealed a homology between catA and the staphylococcal Cm resistance plasmid, pC194. The subunit size of the clostridial CAT enzymes expressed in E. coli was determined as 22.5 kDa (catA) and 24 kDa (catB), respectively. The C. butyricum cat genes provide potentially useful selection markers for the construction of cloning vectors from cryptic clostridial plasmids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Microbiology, Technical University Munich, Arcisstrasse 21, D-8000, München 2, Federal Republic of Germany

    Wolfgang Dubbert, Hania Luczak & Walter L. Staudenbauer

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  1. Wolfgang Dubbert
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  2. Hania Luczak
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  3. Walter L. Staudenbauer
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Communicated by H. Böhme

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Dubbert, W., Luczak, H. & Staudenbauer, W.L. Cloning of two chloramphenicol acetyltransferase genes from Clostridium butyricum and their expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis . Mol Gen Genet 214, 328–332 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337731

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337731

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