Cloning and characterization of the Escherichia coli chromosomal region surrounding the dnaG Gene, with a correlated physical and genetic map of dnaG generated via transposon Tn5 mutagenesis.

A 24 kilobase pair region of the E. coli chromosome surrounding the dnaG gene has been cloned and characterized. A lambda phage library was constructed by ligating a Sau3A( decreases GATC) partial DNA digest of the entire E. coli chromosome into the lambda BamHI(G decreases GATCC) cloning vector charon 28. Partial digestion was performed to generate overlapping chromosomal fragments and to allow one to walk along the chromosome. This library was probed with a nick-translated plasmid (pRRBl) containing the rpoD gene, which maps adjacent to dnaG at 66 min. Four bacteriophages: lambda 3, lambda 4, lambda 5, lambda 6 that hybridized to the probe were isolated from the 2,500 plaques screened. One phage recombinant lambda 4, was shown to contain the dnaG gene. Three recombinant plasmids containing dnaG: pGL444, pGL445, pBS105, were constructed via subcloning of lambda 4 using different restriction of fragments. Plasmids pGL444 and pBS10 5 were subjected to transposon Tn5 mutagenesis and 88 Tn5 inserts into the cloned region were isolated. The location of the Tn5 inserts were mapped by restriction enzyme analysis of the plasmids and the insertion mutations were checked for ability to complement of dnaGts chromosomal marker at nonpermissive 40 degrees C. In this manner a correlated physical and genetic map of dnaG was determined. A large number of Tn5 inserts map to a specific 900 b.p. region which we propose may be involved in the regulation of dnaG gene expression.