Physical comparison of parathion hydrolase plasmids from Pseudomonas diminuta and Flavobacterium sp.

Restriction maps of two plasmids encoding parathion hydrolase have been determined. pPDL2 is a 39-kb plasmid harbored by Flavobacterium sp. (ATCC 27551), while pCMS1 is a 70-kb plasmid found in Pseudomonas diminuta (strain MG). Both plasmids previously have been shown to share homologous parathion hydrolase genes (termed opd for organophosphate degradation) as judged by DNA-DNA hybridization and restriction mapping. In the present study, we conducted DNA hybridization experiments using each of nine PstI restriction fragments from pCMS1 as probes against Flavobacterium plasmid DNA. The opd genes of both plasmids are located within a highly conserved region of approximately 5.1 kb. This region of homology extends approximately 2.6 kb upstream and 1.7 kb downstream from the opd genes. No homology between the two plasmids is evident outside of this region.