IDENTIFICATION OF MYCOPLASMA-PIRUM GENES INVOLVED IN THE SALVAGE PATHWAYS FOR NUCLEOSIDES

Genes encoding enzymes involved in the salvage pathway for nucleosides have been cloned and sequenced from the mollicute Mycoplasma pirum. O ne of them, encoding deoxyriboaldolase, was functionally identified by complementation of an Escherichia coli mutant. These genes are cluste red, suggesting an operon organization, and they are immediately follo wed by the putative gene for the triose phosphate isomerase, an enzyme used during glycolysis.