Identification and analysis of the gas vesicle gene cluster on an unstable plasmid of Halobacterium halobium.

In our efforts to elucidate the mechanism of high-frequency mutation of Halobacterium halobium to a gas vesicle deficient state, we discovered insertions, deletions, inversions, and complex DNA rearrangements associated with a large endogenous plasmid, pNRC100. The rearrangements are mostly IS element-mediated, and when they occur in a region of pNCRC100 containing a cluster of thirteen genes, gas vesicle mutants result. We have characterized the structure and expression of this gas vesicle protein (gvp) gene cluster and demonstrated its requirement for gas vesicle synthesis and cell flotation by genetic transformation.