Abstract
COLICIN factors E2 and E3 (Col E2 and Col E3) are stably maintained extrachromosomal genetic elements carried by Escherichia coli that have been identified as small circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules with the same molecular weights (5 × 106)1. Cells carrying one of these Col factors can produce a specific antibiotic protein2, colicin E2 or colicin E3, and also exhibit an “immunity” to the lethal action of the specific colicin it produces3. While the mechanisms of action of colicin E2 and E3 are quite different4–6, structural and immunological comparisons suggest the proteins are related2 as does the shared receptor sites for colicin adsorption7–9. The partial immunity that cells colicinogenic for Col E2 exhibit for colicin E310 suggests another possible relation may exist between the two colicin factors. In order to further understand the relationships of these two small colicin factors, an examination of the presence and location of homologous base sequences in their DNA molecules was undertaken. The experiments reported here include the electron microscopic examination of heteroduplex molecules formed by renaturing mixtures of denatured Col E2 and Col E3 DNA in formamide solutions11–14, as well as measurements of competitive annealing between both DNA molecules using DNA-DNA membrane filter hybridization techniques15.
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INSELBURG, J. Colicin Factor DNA: a Single Non-Homologous Region in Col E2–E3 Heteroduplex Molecules. Nature New Biology 241, 234–237 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio241234a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio241234a0
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