Molecular analysis of F plasmid pif region specifying abortive infection of T7 phage.

We report the molecular cloning of the pif region of the F plasmid and its physical dissection by subcloning and deletion analysis. Examination of the polypeptide products synthesized in maxicells by plasmids carrying defined pif sequences has shown that the region specifies at least two proteins of molecular weights 80,000 and 40,000, the genes for which appear to lie in the same transcriptional unit. In addition, analysis of pif-lacZ fusion plasmids has detected a pif promoter and determined the direction of transcription across the pif region.