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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2001, p. 82-88, Vol. 67, No. 1
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.1.82-88.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Cloning and Characterization of a Periplasmic Nuclease of Vibrio vulnificus and Its Role in Preventing Uptake of Foreign DNA

Shi-I Wu, Shi-Kan Lo, Chung-Ping Shao, Hsing-Wen Tsai, and Lien-I Hor*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, Republic of China

Received 24 July 2000/Accepted 18 October 2000

We have cloned a nuclease gene, vvn, from Vibrio vulnificus, an estuarine bacterium that causes wound infections and septicemia in humans and eels. The gene contained a 696-bp open reading frame encoding 232 amino acids (aa), including a signal sequence of 18 aa. The deduced amino acid sequence of the mature nuclease predicted a molecular mass of 25 kDa, which was confirmed by vital stain, and a pI of 8.6. Vvn was produced in the periplasm of either V. vulnificus or recombinant Escherichia coli strains and was active in the oxidized (but not the reduced) form. This nuclease was able to digest DNA and RNA, with differential thermostability in DNase and RNase activities. Expression of Vvn in E. coli DH5alpha reduced the frequencies of transformation with the divalent ion-treated cells and electroporation by about 6 and 2 logs, respectively. In addition, the transformation frequency of a Vvn-deficient V. vulnificus mutant (ND) was 10-fold higher than that of the parent strain. These data suggested that Vvn may be involved in preventing uptake of foreign DNA by transformation. However, Vvn expressed in the recipients had little effect on the conjugation frequency in either E. coli or V. vulnificus. Some other DNase(s) may be present in the periplasm and responsible for a residual DNase activity, which was about one-fourth of that of the parent strain, detected in the ND mutant. We also demonstrated that Vvn was not required for the virulence of V. vulnificus mice.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng-Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsieh Rd., Tainan 701, Taiwan, Republic of China. Phone: 886-6-2353535, ext. 5635. Fax: 886-6-2082705. E-mail: h061453{at}mail.ncku.edu.tw.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2001, p. 82-88, Vol. 67, No. 1
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.1.82-88.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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