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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2002, p. 6451-6456, Vol. 68, No. 12
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.12.6451-6456.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Identification of a Replicon from pTXL1, a Small Cryptic Plasmid from Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides Y110, and Development of a Food-Grade Vector
Franck Biet,1* Yves Cenatiempo,1 and Christophe Fremaux2
Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et d'Ingénierie Génétique, Equipe dAccueil 2224, Université de Poitiers, 86022 Poitiers Cedex,1
Rhodia Food, Zone dActivités de Buxières, 86220 Dangé Saint-Romain, France2
Received 29 August 2002/
Accepted 5 September 2002

ABSTRACT
A 2,665-bp cryptic plasmid, pTXL1, isolated from
Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp.
mesenteroides Y110 was identified. This
plasmid harbors a replicon localized on a 1,300-bp fragment.
Two observations suggested that pTXL1 does not belong to rolling-circle
replication (RCR)-type plasmids and most likely replicates via
a theta mechanism. These hypotheses are supported by the observation
that no detectable single-stranded intermediate was found for
the replicon and that, unlike in RCR-type plasmids, the pTXL1
replicon sequence lacks an open reading frame encoding a replicase.
The small-sized pTXL1 plasmid is stable and, according to its
origin, can be considered in the "generally recognized as safe"
category. Its ability to replicate in several lactic acid bacteria
was exploited to develop a vector producing mesentericin Y105,
a class II anti-
Listeria bacteriocin. With this new vector,
a recombinant industrial
Leuconostoc cremoris strain able to
produce mesentericin Y105 was constructed.

INTRODUCTION
Plasmids from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have become a focus
of numerous studies, thus leading to the development of families
of cloning vectors. Most vectors for LAB are rolling-circle
replication (RCR) plasmids, which replicate by using single-stranded
intermediates similar to those from other gram-positive bacteria
(
2,
15,
22). While these plasmids have been indispensable in
designing new gene cloning systems in LAB, problems linked to
their stability are well documented (
14,
21). Cloning vectors
that replicate without the use of RCR display several advantages,
as exemplified by those derived from the enterococcal pAMß1
plasmid (
9). The replication of pAMß1 and other LAB
plasmids, such as pWV02 (
20) and pCI305 (
17), by the theta mechanism
was reviewed by Jannière et al. (
19).
Leuconostoc spp. are a diverse group of heterofermentative LAB of considerable industrial importance. Many Leuconostoc species harbor one or more native plasmids of various sizes, but to date, only a few reports have dealt with RCR plasmids in species of the Leuconostoc genus (5, 7, 10, 11, 30) and none concerns identification of a non-RCR plasmid. The aim of the present study was to analyze the mode of replication of the Leuconostoc plasmid pTXL1 (6) in order to develop families of vectors designed for specific industrial applications. Plasmid pTXL1 was rather small and stable during attempts to cure its host strain, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides Y110, with novobiocin treatment. Moreover, it seemed compatible with various vectors derived either from the pWV01 replicon or from the pAMß1 replicon (data not shown), and we consequently hypothesized that pTXL1 might be a good candidate for elaborating new food-grade vectors for Leuconostoc.
Bacterial strains and plasmids used in this study are listed in Table 1.
L. mesenteroides subsp.
mesenteroides Y110, which originated
from goats' milk, was isolated and grown in MRS (Difco) broth
or agar (1.2%, wt/vol) at 30°C. It contains five plasmids
(
6). The smallest, pTXL1 (2.6 kb) (
6), was inserted into the
unique
SalI site of pBSSKII
+ to yield pFBYC050. General genetic
techniques used were as previously described (
25,
28).
Escherichia coli competent cells were prepared and transformed according
to the method of Hanahan (
16). The resulting transformant strains
were propagated at 37°C in LB (
28) broth or on agar (1.5%,
wt/vol) containing ampicillin at a final concentration of 100
µg ml
-1. The sequences of pTXL1 were determined on both
strands with an Auto-read sequencing kit (Pharmacia) and with
appropriate primers by using an automated laser fluorescence
DNA sequencer (Pharmacia). Sequence analyses were performed
with the Genetics Computer Group sequence analysis software
package (University of Wisconsin). The G+C content in pTXL1
is 34%, in accordance with the G+C percentage of
Leuconostoc subsp. chromosomes and plasmids previously described (
10,
12).
Surprisingly, sequence analysis revealed no similarities with
genes encoding known proteins involved in replication, such
as the replication initiation protein required for RCR plasmids.
Generally, small cryptic plasmids replicate by an RCR mechanism
and their sequence bears a gene encoding their replicase (
19).
No sequence resembling a double-strand origin or a single-strand
origin involved in the conversion of single-strand DNA (ssDNA)
intermediates into a double-stranded DNA plasmid molecule was
identified in the pTXL1 nucleotidic sequence.
To locate the region required for pTXL1 replication, the erythromycin cassette originating from pGhost9:ISS1 was inserted into pFBYC050 (Fig. 1). Plasmid pFBC050E was therefore constructed by insertion of the 1.1-kb BamHI cassette into the unique BamHI site in the multiple cloning site of pFBYC050. Erythromycin-resistant transformants of E. coli were selected on brain heart infusion agar plates (Difco) containing 150 µg of erythromycin ml-1. Erythromycin-resistant transformants of Leuconostoc subsp. strains were grown at 30°C in MRS (Difco) broth or agar (1.2%, wt/vol) containing erythromycin (5 µg ml-1). As this construct was able to transform Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum DSM20484 to Emr, a series of subclones was constructed to further locate the minimal region, which allowed replication (Fig. 1). We found that the minimal replicon required for the replication of pTXL1 resides within the 1.3-kb SalI-SspI fragment (Fig. 1). Within this minimum replicon three palindromic structures designated IRI, IRII, and IRIII were identified (Fig. 2). IRI, -II, and -III could form hairpin loops, with calculated changes in the free energy of formation (
Go) of -15, -22, and -10 kcal mol-1, respectively. Three direct repeats, DRI, DRII, and DRIII, were identified (Fig. 1). IRI and DRI may be required for plasmid replication because the construct pFBYC065, from which these repeats were deleted (Fig. 1), was not able to replicate in Leuconostoc. Sequence analysis revealed two small open reading frames, ORF1 and ORF2, extending from positions 1001 to 1339 and from positions 883 to 644, respectively. By scanning data banks for sequences deduced from ORF1 (80 amino acids) and ORF2 (113 amino acids), we did not find homology to any known protein. A deletion of ORF1 and ORF2 in the construct pFBYC068E abolished plasmid replication in Leuconostoc, suggesting that both ORFs may be involved in plasmid replication.
Generally, small LAB plasmids use RCR. RCR implicates the formation
of an ssDNA intermediate of the plasmid (
29). Therefore, the
ability of pTXL1 to generate ssDNA was examined as described
previously (
5).
Leuconostoc cells were grown in MRS medium.
Rifampin was added at 100 µg ml
-1 in order to inhibit
RNA polymerase (
22). Whole-cell lysates were prepared as described
previously (
25,
26). S1 nuclease (Gibco-BRL) treatment was performed
according to the method of Noirot-Gros et al. (
26). ssDNA was
detected by nonalkaline Southern blot hybridization. DNA transfer
from agarose gel to a Hybond-N
+ nylon membrane (Amersham) was
adapted from the work of Sambrook et al. (
28). The DNA denaturation
step was omitted. DNA probes consisted of purified DNA restriction
fragments that were specific for each plasmid and labeled by
use of a random priming kit (Gibco-BRL) and [

-
32P]dCTP (Amersham).
Hybridization of the transferred DNA with the labeled probes
was performed according to the method of te Riele et al. (
29).
Nonspecific hybridizations were avoided by washing the membrane
at 62°C in 1
x SSC (1
x SSC is 0.15 M NaCl plus 0.015 M sodium
citrate)-0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, after which the membrane
was exposed to an autoradiography film.
As a control, we used strains of L. mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum DSM20484 containing pFBYC18E (Fig. 3a) or pGhost9:ISS1 (Fig. 3b), two well-described RCR plasmids (5, 23). In addition to hybridizing to the open circular forms and covalently closed circular forms of the plasmids, the probes specific for pFBYC18E (Fig. 3a) and pGhost9:ISS1 (Fig. 3b) hybridized to a faint fast-migrating band suspected of being an ssDNA intermediate. Their sensitivity to S1 nuclease demonstrated their single-stranded nature. Similarly, whole-cell DNA from L. mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum DSM20484 containing pFBYC50E was tested with pTXL1 as a probe (Fig. 3c). The hybridization failed to detect any single-stranded intermediate of pTXL1. This result strongly suggests that pTXL1 does not belong to the RCR plasmid family. This indirect proof, added to the absence of any ORF encoding a replicase as well as the lack of single-strand and double-strand origin sequences, is consistent with a mode of replication differing from the rolling-circle mechanism.
RCR plasmids are less stable when they contain foreign DNA (
20),
which limits their use as cloning vectors. To investigate the
stability of pTXL1 as a cloning vector, single colonies of
Leuconostoc transformants carrying various endogenous plasmids were used
to inoculate MRS broth without erythromycin. The cultures were
maintained in mid-log phase and serially transferred until approximately
100 generations were obtained. Plasmid stability was then estimated
by comparing the numbers of CFU on selective (5 µg of
erythromycin ml
-1) and nonselective (without antibiotic) agar
plates. Results presented in Table
2 show that, in contrast
to what occurs with pGhost9:IS
S1 or pFR18 derivatives, the segregational
stability of pTXL1 derivatives was not affected by a large insertion
of foreign DNA. In addition, Southern blot analysis of plasmid
DNA prepared from erythromycin-resistant colonies cultivated
for 100 generations without selection pressure revealed no structural
change in the plasmid (data not shown).
Taking into account the overall properties of the pTXL1 replicon
described above, it appeared to be a good alternative for use
in developing
Leuconostoc and other LAB cloning vectors. Indeed,
the pTXL1 replicon was shown to be able to replicate in various
Leuconostoc species (
cremoris LC;
mesenteroides subsp.
mesenteroides Y110, Y105, and FR52; and
mesenteroides subsp.
dextranicum DSM20484),
Pediococcus acidilactici P120, and
Lactobacillus sakei 23K but
not in
E. coli (data not shown). Preparation of electrocompetent
LAB cells and electroporation were as described previously (
27).
P. acidilactici P120 was grown in MRS (Difco) broth or agar
(1.2%, wt/vol) at 30°C. MRS medium supplemented with 1%
glucose was used for
Lactobacillus sakei 23K propagation at
30°C. Interestingly, the transformation frequencies observed
with the pTXL1 derivatives (pFBYC050E and pFBYC50E) were similar
to those observed with the control RCR plasmid pGhost9:IS
S1.
In
Leuconostoc strains, the transformation frequencies per microgram
quantities of pTXL1 derivatives or pGhost9/IS
S1 were about 10
5 transformants in
L. mesenteroides subsp.
dextranicum DSM20484
and about 10
1 in
L. mesenteroides subsp.
mesenteroides Y110.
In the
Lactobacillus sakei 23K and
P. acidilactici P120 strains,
the transformation frequencies were 10
5 for both plasmids. In
addition, this replicon was compatible with the pWV01 replicon
that served as a basis for most genetic tools devoted to LAB.
Consequently, pTXL1 was used to design a narrow-host-range food-grade
vector.
We decided to transform an industrial L. cremoris strain aiming at the heterologous production of the anti-Listeria bacteriocin mesentericin Y105, originally produced by L. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides Y110.
A 669-bp SmaI-HindIII restriction fragment containing the constitutive lactococcal p59 promoter, a ribosome-binding site, and part of the divergicin A signal peptide gene (4) was cloned into pFBYC051 (Table 1) that had been restricted with SmaI and HindIII enzymes. This construct, named pFBYC069, was restricted with HindIII and ligated with a 518-bp HindIII restriction fragment containing the mesentericin Y105 structural gene (mesY) and its immunity gene (mesI). The resulting plasmid, pFBYC070, was introduced into the L. mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum DSM20484 strain devoid of anti-Listeria activity and sensitive to mesentericin Y105 and into the industrial L. cremoris LC strain devoid of anti-Listeria activity. Production of mesentericin Y105 by recombinant L. mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum DSM20484 and recombinant L. cremoris LC were examined by a rapid purification method (4) and characterized by mass spectroscopy analysis (data not shown). Bacteriocin activity was assayed against Listeria ivanovii BUG 497 as described previously (1). Figure 4 shows that recombinant L. mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum DSM20484 and L. cremoris LC producing mesentericin Y105 displayed bactericidal activity against Listeria, unlike nonrecombinant Leuconostoc strains.
These results proved that the
L. mesenteroides subsp.
dextranicum DSM20484 strain and the industrial strain
L. cremoris LC were
able to express the bacteriocin from the pTXL1 derivative vector
at a level similar to that of the natural producer.
We described here a new Leuconostoc plasmid, the first small non-RCR-type Leuconostoc plasmid identified to date. Its food-grade origin combined with its small size, high stability, and narrow host range makes pTXL1 a food-grade vector of interest. Derivatives of pTXL1 should be useful for constructing Leuconostoc starter strains with improved fermentative, flavor-enhancing, and bacteriocin-producing abilities.

Nucleotide sequence accession number.
The EMBL accession number for the complete nucleotide sequence
of pTXL1 linearized at its unique
SalI site reported in this
paper is
AJ272077.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was achieved as part of the program BIOAVENIR (contract
780227), supported by Rhône-Poulenc with the participation
of the Ministère de la Recherche et de l'Espace and the
Ministère de l'Industrie et du Commerce Extérieur.
We are grateful to Monique Zagorec for her contribution to the transfer of plasmids in Lactobacillus sakei. We thank Laurent Jannière for helpful discussion on single-stranded DNA detection.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Present address: LBE/IBL Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1 rue du Prof. Calmette, B.P. 245, 59019 Lille Cedex, France. Phone: 33-3-2087 1195. Fax: 33-3-2087 1192. E-mail:
franck.biet{at}pasteur-lille.fr.


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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2002, p. 6451-6456, Vol. 68, No. 12
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.12.6451-6456.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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