RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 WANG, SHANG-KWEI A1 SA'-CORREIA, ISABEL A1 DARZINS, ALDIS A1 CHAKRABARTY, A. M.YR 1987 T1 Characterization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Alginate (alg) Gene Region II JF Microbiology, VO 133 IS 8 SP 2303 OP 2314 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-133-8-2303 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2080, AB SUMMARY: Pseudomonas aeruginosa region II alginate genes are involved in the biosynthesis of the uronic acid containing exopolysaccharide, alginic acid. We have subcloned and overexpressed various DNA fragments contained within region II in an attempt to further characterize and more precisely localize the genes involved in alginate production. Overexpression of the genes controlling alginate biosynthesis within region II was accomplished by placing various cloned restriction fragments under the transcriptional control of the hybrid trp-lac (tac) promoter, and plasmid encoded proteins were examined in a maxicell expression system. We correlated various region II plasmid constructions with the ability to complement specific alginate negative (alg) mutants and code for polypeptides. Several proteins suspected of being involved in alginate production were encoded by sequences within region II. The results of this study further reveal that the transcriptional orientation of the alg loci within region II appears to be in the direction from argF to pmi. The specific activities of phosphomannomutase (PMM) and GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase (GMP), two enzymes involved in the formation of the alginate precursor GDP-mannuronic acid, were measured in region II alg mutants and in cells overexpressing cloned segments from region II. Based on these enzyme measurements, we conclude that the remaining region II alg genes do not encode either PMM or GMP. These results support the suggestion that the remaining alg genes in region II are likely to be involved in post GDP-mannuronic acid processing events such as mannuronic acid transport, polymerization, secretion, epimerization and acetylation., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-133-8-2303