The site-specific Integration system of the temperate Streptococcus thermophiles Bacteriophage φSfi21

Bruttin, Anne; Foley, Sophie; Br�ssow, Harald

Abstract

The temperate bacteriophage fSfi21 integrates its DNA into the chromosome of Streptococcus thermophilus strains via
site-specific recombination. Nucleotide sequencing of the attachment sites identified a 40-bp identity region which surprisingly
overlaps both the 18-terminal bp of the phage integrase gene and the 11-terminal bp of a host tRNAArg gene. A 2.4-kb phage
DNA segment, covering attP, the phage integrase, and a likely immunity gene contained all the genetic information for faithful
integration of a nonreplicative plasmid into the attB site. A deletion within the int gene led to the loss of integration proficiency.
A number of spontaneous deletions were observed in plasmids containing the 2.4-kb phage DNA segment. The deletion
sites were localized to the tRNA side of the identity region and to phage or vector DNA with 3- to 6-bp-long repeats from
the border region. A similar type of deletion was previously observed in a spontaneous phage mutant.

Citation

Bruttin, A., Foley, S., & Brüssow, H. (1997). The site-specific Integration system of the temperate Streptococcus thermophiles Bacteriophage φSfi21. Virology, 237(1), 148-158. https://doi.org/10.1006/viro.1997.8769

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 7, 1997
• Publication Date: Oct 13, 1997
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2016
• Journal: Virology
• Print ISSN: 0042-6822
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 237
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 148-158
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/viro.1997.8769
• Keywords: Temperate bacteriophage φSfi21; DNA; Streptococcus thermophilusstrains; recombination
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9931
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/viro.1997.8769