Complementation of cellulose-negative mutants of Acetobacter xylinum by the cloned structural gene for phosphoglucomutase

Abstract

Eleven cellulose-negative mutants of Acetobacter xylinum were analysed with respect to the activities of the enzymes known to be involved in cellulose biosynthesis. The analysis showed that all the mutants were deficient in phosphoglucomutase. All 11 mutants were complemented with a recombinant cosmid from a gene bank of wild type A. xylinum DNA. A subcloned 3.8-kb DNA fragment from the cosmid insert expressed high levels of phosphoglucumutase in Escherichia coli. Electrophoretic analysis showed that the introduced A. xylinum activity could be separated from the endogenous phosphoglucomutase present in E. coli. The experiments thus demonstrated that the cloned DNA fragment contained the A. xylinum structural gene for phosphoglucomutase. © 1991.