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Functional destination of propeptides and precursors in bacillar secretory proteases remains uncertain. Formerly deletion assay demonstrated folding and secretion of subtilisin E, chymotrypsin-like protease SGPB from S. griseus and B. cereus metalloprotease to depend on full-length propeptide in the precursors. Actually an artificial B. amyloliquefaciens metalloprotease gene with deletion of 51 amino acid residues from N-terminus was constructed with regard to carry out functional mapping of secretory metalloprotease propeptides. B. subtilis wprA gene 5'-terminal region spanning promoter and secretory leader was coupled to provide transcription to the truncated gene and secretion to its product. B. subtilis clones bearing a plasmid with the modified gene synthesised an active mature metalloprotease.

The possibility of entomocyde crystal protein synthesis was studied using a heterological cell-free system with Bacillus thuringiensis plasmid DNA as template. The high level of template activity is usual for Bac. thuringiensis plasmid DNA. Immunochemical studies of the in vitro synthesized polypeptides showed that Bac. thuringiensis plasmid DNA does not direct crystal protein synthesis.

In this paper we describe the preparation of hybrid plasmid consisting of ColE1 DNA and DNA of R6K plasmid. ColE1 plasmid represents a circular DNA with the molecular weight of 4,2-10(6) daltons. It determines colicine synthesis E1, has relaxed control of replication and is present in the cell in several dozens copies. Transmissive plasmid B6K represents a circular DNA molecule with the molecular weight of 28-10(6) daltons. It confers the resistance to amplicillin and streptomycin and belongs to the compatibility group X. This plasmid also has relaxed control of replication (up to 30 copies per cell). Circular superhelical DNA of ColE1 was prepared after it is amplification with cloramphenicol according to Clewell by ultracentrifugation in CsCl-EtBr density gradient. The yield of superhelical ColE1 DNA in our experiments was up to 300 mg/gram cells. Circular superhelical R6K DNA was isolated from E. coli strain J53 R6K grown to stationary phase in the presence of 15 mg/ml of streptomycin. The yield of superhelical DNA was equal to about 45 mg per 1 gram cells. EcoR1 restrictase was prepared from E. coli KM182 as described by Thomas et al. From 37 grams of cells 10 ml of enzyme solution was prepared. 1 ml of this solution was able to restrict completely 2 mg of ColE1 DNA during Hu incubation for 30 degrees min at 37 degrees C. Restrictase activity was analyzed by electrophoresis of ColE1 DNA restricts in 0,7% agarose gel as described by Tanaka. DNA ligase was prepared from E. coli B. cells infected by T4 phage am81 mutant as described by Weiss. The activity of enzyme solution was equal to 90 units/ml (according to Richardson). In standard "hybridization" experiment 4 mug of ColE1 DNA and 4 mug of R6K DNA were incubated for 1 hour at 37 degrees in 0,2 ml of the solution containing 40 mM tris-HCl, pH 7,4; 10 mM MgCl2 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM mercaptoethanol and 5 mul of EcoR1 restrictase. The reaction was terminated by heating the reaction mixture to 65 degrees C for 5 min. In accordance with the results of others CoLE1 DNA gave one restrict and R6K DNA-two restricted fragments. 100 mul of the restricted mixture was chilled to 0 degrees and the following ingredients were added 10 mul of 50 mM MgCl2; 10 mul of 100 mM dithiotreitol; 10 mul of 0,5 mM ATP, 20 mul of water and 8 mul of ligase solution (90 units/mul). The mixture was incubated at 0-0,5 degrees for 53 hours, thereafter it was used for the transformation of E. coli C600 according to Tanaka et al. Several classes of hybrid molecules due to different combinations of restricted fragments of parental species were expected. These molecules had to confer the immunity to colicine E1 and to carry the defect in the gene controlling colicine synthesis since EcoR1 restrictase splits ColE1 DNA in the region of corresponding gene. In addition, certain classes of transformants with hybrid DNA molecules had to be resistant to one or both antibiotics as determined by the R6K plasmid portion...

Hybrid plasmid RP4-ColE1 was obtained by joining DNA plasmids RP4 and ColE1, each of which possessed only one site of restriction for EcoR1. These plasmid molecules were restricted by endonuclease EcoR1 and then treated by ligase. The hybrid plasmid retained the property of transmissibility typical for drug factor resistance RP4. Non-transmissible mutant of the hybrid plasmid selected by the character of the resistance of Escherichia coli C600 (RP4-ColE1) to the phage PRR1 is used for subsequent investigations.

We studied Bacillus thuringiensis var galleriae, strain 612 plasmids. B. thuringiensis cells contain double-stranded plasmid DNA molecules (ranging of about 12% from total DNA content) with buoyant density 1.59 g/cm3. Plasmid DNA content was constant during the exponential and stationary phases of bacterial growth. The plasmid fractions consist of DNA molecules with molecular weights of 5.9 x 10(6), 10.0 x 10(6), and 110.9 x 10(6) daltons (pVD1, pVD2 pVD3, respectively). Endonuclease EcoRI cuts the plasmids pVD2 and pVD3 into two and four fragments, respectivelyy, but pVDI seemed to be resistent to EcoRI treatment. We found that pVD2 and pVD3 plasmids contain a common DNA fragment with the molecular weight of 6.7 x 10(6) dalton as it was shown by restriction analysis. In contrast, the same plasmids contain the common fragment with molecular weight of 7.5 x 10(6) dalton as shown by heteroduplex analysis. Plasmid pVD3 has a transposon-like structure.

Centrifugation of Bacillus thuringiensis 351 DNA in CsCl-ethidium bromide density gradient has revealed, besides the main band of chromosomal DNA (p = 1.56 g/cm2), some additional bands with higher density, which usually correspond cicle superhelix DNAs, are revealed. 6 discrete bands are observed under electrophoresis of total fraction of minor DNA bands, which suggests, that the preparation contains cicle DNAs of different size. The treatment with DNAse results in the appearance of 3 bands corresponding to opened cicle DNA forms, their molecular weight being 12-10(6)--4-10(6) daltons. Cicle super-helix and opened cicle DNA forms are found in minor fraction by means of electrone microscopy. Statistical analysis has revealed the presence of at least three types of cicle molecules of different size. The variant 351-10, free of extrachromosomal elements, is isolated after ethidium bromide treatment at high temperature. Possible mechanisms of cicle DNAs formation are discussed. Biological function of DNA extrachromosomes fragments in Bacillus thuringiensis is still obscure.