PLASMID AND CHROMOSOME CHARACTERIZATION OF LEUCONOSTOC-OENOS STRAINS

Fifteen strains of Leuconostoc oenos were examined for plasmid content . Six were found to contain single cryptic plasmids designated pUBL01 to pUBL06 and ranging in size from 3.9 to 26 kb. Through size analysis , restriction endonuclease mapping, and DNA-DNA hybridization, the gro up of six plasmids comprised three plasmids which were not homologous. Pulsed field electrophoresis and restriction fragment length polymorp hism mapping were used to differentiate strains harboring plasmid DNA. The genome size ranged from 1770 to 1975 kb. EcoRI and Hind III RFLP were suitable to differentiate the strains in the region of 9- to 23-k b fragments. Two strains with identical RFLP contained different plasm ids useful for their recognition.