Nucleotide sequence of the bacterial transposon Tn1681 encoding a heat-stable (ST) toxin and its identification in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains.

the Escherichia coli heat-stable toxin (ST I) is encoded within a transposon (Tn1681) flanked by inverted repeats of insertion sequence 1 (IS1) [So, M., Heffron, F. & McCarthy, B. J. (1979) Nature (London) 277, 453-456]. By subcloning restriction fragments and by insertion mutagenesis, we located precisely the gene for ST I within the transposon. We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the central portion of Tn1681 (i.e., that part flanked by IS1) and identified the coding sequence of the toxin. From the nucleotide sequence, we deduced a probable amino acid sequence for ST I. The NH2-terminal portion of the amino acid sequence is extremely hydrophobic and bears a striking resemblance to the signal sequence of the fd phage minor coat protein. By using a subcloned restriction fragment containing the gene for ST I but no IS1 sequences, we determined (i) that the ST toxin with activity assayable in suckling mice (ST I) is genetically distinct from the St toxin assayable in ligated ileal loops (ST II) and (ii) that ST I can be responsible for diarrheal disease in different animals.