Cloning and characterization of the mvrC gene of Escherichia coli K-12 which confers resistance against methyl viologen toxicity.

A new gene mvrC conferring resistance to methyl viologen, a powerful superoxide radical propagator, was cloned on 13.5 kilo base (kb) EcoRI DNA fragment. It gave resistance against methyl viologen to even a wild-type strain with gene dosage dependence. From the physical maps obtained by restriction enzyme digestions, it was predicted to locate at 580 kbp (12.3 min) on the physical map of E.coli. This was confirmed by the Southern hybridization of lambda phages covering this region with mvrC probe. The DNA sequence of mvrC gene was determined and its deduced protein encoding a 12 kd hydrophobic protein was confirmed by maxicell labeling of MvrC protein.