Cloning and characterization of a DNA region encoding a stress-sensitive restriction system from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 and analysis of its role in intergeneric conjugation with Escherichia coli.

RP4-mediated transfer of mobilizable plasmids in intergeneric conjugation of Escherichia coli donors with Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 is severely affected by a restriction system in the recipient that can be inactivated by a variety of exogenous stress factors. In this study a rapid test procedure based on intergeneric conjugal plasmid transfer that permitted the distinction between restriction-negative and restriction-positive C. glutamicum clones was developed. By using this procedure, clones of the restriction-deficient mutant strain C. glutamicum RM3 harboring a plasmid library of the wild-type chromosome were checked for their restriction properties. A complemented clone with a restriction-positive phenotype was isolated and found to contain a plasmid with a 7-kb insertion originating from the wild-type chromosome. This plasmid, termed pRES806, is able to complement the restriction-deficient phenotype of different C. glutamicum mutants. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of two open reading frames (orf1 and orf2) on the complementing DNA fragment. The region comprising orf1 and orf2 displayed a strikingly low G+C content and was present exclusively in C. glutamicum strains. Gene disruption experiments with the wild type proved that orf1 is essential for complementation, but inactivation of orf2 also resulted in a small but significant increase in fertility. These results were confirmed by infection assays with the bacteriophage CL31 from Corynebacterium lilium ATCC 15990.