Transformation mapping of the genes controlling tryptophan biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis.

Forty tryptophan auxotrophs of Bacillus subtilis have been placed in six phenotypic classes on the basis of growth responses, accumulation properties, and, in some cases, specific enzymatic defects. Three-point transformation crosses between representative mutants of the six different types have permitted the determination of the orders of the gene loci. In addition, mutational site orders for mutants within each of the classes have been determined by the same techniques. The organization of the cluster of genes controlling tryptophan biosynthesis in B. subtilis appears to be essentially analogous to that of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium.