Comparison of the overlapping frd and ampC operons of Escherichia coli with the corresponding DNA sequences in other gram-negative bacteria

Abstract

Specific DNA probes from E. coli K-12 were used to analyze the sequence divergence of the frd and ampC operons in various gram-negative bacteria. These operons code for the fumarate reductase complex and the chromosomal .beta.-lactamase, respectively. The 2 operons show the same general pattern of divergence, although the frd operon is considerably more conserved than is the ampC operon. The major exception is Salmonella typhimurium LT2, which shows a strong homology to the E. coli frd probe but none to the E. coli ampC probe. The operons from Citrobacter freundii and Shigella sonnei were cloned and characterized by physical mapping, southern hybridization and protein synthesis in minicells. In S. sonnei, as in E. coli K-12, the frd and ampC operons overlap. Only minor discrepancies between the 2 operons were found over the entire frd-ampC region. In C. freundii, the ampC and frd operons do not overlap, being separated by .apprx. 1100 base pairs. Presumably the inducible property of the C. freundii chromosomal .beta.-lactamase is encoded by this 1100 base-pair DNA segment.