Amongst forty wild strains of Escherichia coli, sixteen utilized galactitol (as did K12) and seven utilized ribitol (as did C) of which six utilized d-arabitol; none utilized all three polyols.
Transduction of genes for ribitol utilization (rtl+) to strains able to utilize galactitol (gat+), whether K12 or wild strains, using wild strains and E. coli C as donors always resulted in loss of the galactitol phenotype. The genes for d-arabitol use (atl+) were always cotransduced with rtl+ in interstrain crosses. We confirm and extend the mapping of gat+ (Lengeler, 1977) and rtl+atl+ (Reiner, 1975) in their respective hosts, K12 and C, by showing both regions to be 50% cotransducible with metG and 3% cotransducible with fpk. In reciprocal transductions, gat+ replaced rtl+atl+. In partial diploids, rtl+atl+ and gat+ regions did not interfere with each other’s expression.
Transfer of rtl+ from an Rtl+ Atl− donor by R plasmid (pE10)-mediated conjugation, gave Gat− transconjugants of K12 in which rtl+ and a kanamycin resistance gene were 100% cotransducible in the metG region of the chromosome.
It is suggested that the rtl+atl+ and gat+ genes (or parts of them) act as alternative, or mutually exclusive, regions in the chromosome. Possible reasons for the existence of alternative characters are discussed.
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