Cloning genes for proline biosynthesis from Neisseria gonorrhoeae: identification by interspecific complementation of Escherichia coli mutants

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Abstract
DNA from N. gonorrhoeae KH45 was partially digested with Sau3A and inserted into the BamHI site of the cloning vector pLES2. After introduction into E. coli JM83 by transformation, 2 different size classes of plasmids were isolated that could complement the proAB deletion of JM83. These plasmids (pLES4 and pLES7) were characterized by restriction endonuclease digestion. Southern hybridization demonstrated that the inserts had sequence homology. Various deletions of these plasmids were constructed that had lost the ability to complement the proA lesion of .chi.463, the proB lesion of .chi.340, or both (plasmids pLES9, pLES8 and pLES10, respectively). These deleted plasmids were introduced into a proline-requiring strain of N. gonorrhoeae, F62, with plasmids pLES4, pLES7 and pLES8 possessing the ability to correct the proline requirement of F62. Further analysis indicated that the hybrid plasmids were stably maintained as plasmids in N. gonorrhoeae.