EaeI: a restriction endonuclease from Enterobacter aerogenes.

We describe the isolation and characterization of a type II restriction endonuclease from Enterobacter aerogenes. This recognises and cleaves the family of related sequences: 5'-Py-G-G-C-C-Pu-3' to generate DNA fragments with 5'-tetranucleotide extensions. EaeI may be useful in molecular cloning experiments, especially in conjunction with other enzymes which generate the same terminal extensions. Potential problems in the methods used to determine the cleavage specificity are discussed.