Molecular cloning of structural and immunity genes for megacins A-216 and A-19213 in Bacillus megaterium.

A host-vector system was developed for molecular cloning in Bacillus megaterium and used to clone the structural and immunity genes for megacins A-216 and A-19213. Recombinant clones that expressed immunity only or both immunity to and production of each megacin were obtained. Restriction mapping of native megacinogenic plasmids and recombinant clones was used to construct physical and genetic maps of megacinogenic plasmids pBM309 and pBM113. Limited sequence homology between pBM309 and pBM113 was detected by Southern blot hybridization and was mapped to, at most, a 6.4-kilobase-pair region of pBM309 and a 6.1-kilobase-pair region of pBM113.