Several independent, spontaneous rifampin-resistant mautants of Bacillus subtilis were isolated and found to have an increased resistance to trimethoprim, an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase. This increased resistance in the rif mutants was the result of a specific threefold increase in the activity of dihydrofolate reductase, since six other enzymes examined remained unchanged. This increased level of dihydrofolate reductase and the trimethoprim resistance were cotransformed (100%') with the i-if marker. These results suggest that the RNA polymerase is altered in its recognition of the gene that specifies dihydrofolate reductase.Rifampin and its derivatives are antibiotics that inhibit the activity of the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase by binding to the /3-subunit of the enzvme and preventing the initation of transcription (2, 7). Mutations to r-ifampin resistance have been reported to have pleiotropic effects on complex metabolic processes, such as: a reduced abilitv of Bacillus ssubtilis to sporulate (6,12,13); suppression of dnaA mutations (1); and inhibition of the growth of bacteriophages (11). In addition, alterations in specific enzymes have been reported in some rif nmutants: specifically, an increased level of enzymes in the arginine pathway (17), an increased level of dihvdrofolate (DHF) reductase (M. M. Aldridge, V. J. Wainscott, and J. F. Kane, Abstr. Annu. Meet. Am. Soc. Microbiol. 1976, K47, p. 144), and the absence of the enzyme glutamate svnthase (10). In this report we present results that show an increased level of DHF reductase in rif mutants of B. subtilis.All of the mutants used in this study were derivatives of the competent strain 168. Spontaneous rifampin-resistant mutants were obtained by surface spreading the gat-7 mutant (previouslI referred to as the trpX7 mutant [4,5]) NP102 on Trypticase soy agar containing (0.6%' yeast extract and 5 ,ig of rifampin (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) per ml. The plates were incubated at :370C until resistant colonies appeared. Single colonies were transferred to the rifampin-containing medium anc streaked for isolation. Cultures for enzyme assavs were routinelyr grown in 200 ml of minimal glutcose me-Present address: t)e)artiment of Biolog. (ilemison t Tiversitv, (lenison, NC 29(331. P Present address: Departm-lernt of tell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TIX,770:10.
Twenty-five strains of Salmonella typhimurium containing different mutations in the first gene of histidine biosynthesis were studied to correlate regions of the genetic map with biochemical functions. These strains contained either missense, double-frameshift, or suppressed nonsense mutations, all of which resulted in altered, though active, enzymes. Each mutant enzyme was assayed for activity in the presence of varying concentrations of the feedback inhibitor L-histidine or the substrates ATP and 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate. The feedback properties and substrate kinetics of each mutant enzyme were compared to wild-type values, and these results indicated that the following functions were correlated with regions of the hisG gene: feedback inhibition in two general areas, including regions IA and IB and regions V, VI, and VII; ATP binding in two general areas, including regions IA, IB, and II and regions V, VI, and VII; and 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate binding in two general areas, including regions IB, II, and III and regions V and VI.
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