Molecular analysis of the 21-kb bacteriocin-encoding plasmid pEF1 from Enterococcus faecium 6T1a.

The complete 21,344-bp DNA sequence of the bacteriocin-encoding plasmid pEF1 from Enterococcus faecium 6T1a was determined. Thirty-four putative open reading frames which could code for proteins longer than 42 amino acids were found. Those included the structural genes encoding for the previously described bacteriocins enterocin I and J (also named as enterocins L50A and L50B). After comparison to sequences in public databases, analysis of the gene organization of pEF1 suggests a modular structure with three different functional domains: the replication region, the bacteriocin region and the mobilization plus UV-resistance region. This genetic mosaic structure most probably evolved through recombination events promoted by transposable elements. The hypothesis that the bacteriocin cluster on pEF1 could act as a functional plasmid stabilization module in E. faecium 6T1a is discussed.