ANALYSIS OF A TRANSFER REGION FROM THE STAPHYLOCOCCAL CONJUGATIVE PLASMID PSK41

The nucleotide sequence of a 14.4-kb region (tra) associated with DNA transfer of the staphylococcal conjugative plasmid, pSK41, has been de termined. Analysis of the sequence revealed the presence of 15 genes p otentially involved in the conjugative process, Polypeptide products l ikely to correspond to ten of these genes have been identified, of whi ch one was found to be a lipoprotein. Comparison of the deduced tra pr oducts to the protein databases revealed several interesting similarit ies, one of which suggests an evolutionary link between this Gram(+) b acterial conjugation system and DNA transfer systems of Gram(-) bacter ia, such as Escherichia coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The nt seq uence also provided an insight into the transcriptional organisation a nd regulation of the region.