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Journal of Biochemistry Advance Access published online on December 14, 2006
Journal of Biochemistry, doi:10.1093/jb/mvm023
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© 2006 The Japanese Biochemical Society

Lateral transfer of the lux gene cluster

Sabu Kasai1,*, Kazuhisa Okada2,3, Akinori Hoshino1, Tetsuya Iida2,4 and Takeshi Honda2

1Department of Applied Chemistry and Bioapplied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka City University, Sugimoto 3-3-138, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan and 2Department of Bacterial Infections, Research Institute for Microbial Disease, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel/Fax: +81-6-6605-2783, E-mail: kasai{at}bioa.eng.osaka-cu.ac.jp.

Received August 4, 2006; Accepted December 7, 2006


  Abstract

The lux operon is an uncommon gene cluster. To find the pathway through which the operon has been transferred, we sequenced the operon and both flanking regions in four typical luminous species. In Vibrio cholerae NCIMB 41, a five-gene cluster, most genes of which were highly similar to orthologues present in Gram-positive bacteria, along with the lux operon, is inserted between VC1560 and VC1563, on chromosome 1. Because this entire five-gene cluster is present in Photorhabdus luminescens TT01, about 1.5 Mbp upstream of the operon, we deduced that the operon and the gene cluster were transferred from V. cholerae to an ancestor of Pr. luminescens. Because in both Vibrio fischeri and Shewanella hanedai, luxR and luxI were found just upstream of the operon, we concluded that the operon was transferred from either species to the other. Because most of the genes flanking the operon were highly similar to orthologues present on chromosome 2 of vibrios, we speculated that the operon of most species is located on this chromosome. The undigested genomic DNAs of five luminous species were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization. In all the species except V. cholerae, the operons are located on chromosome 2.

Key Words: Photobacterium phosphoreum, Photorhabdus luminescens, transfer of the lux operon, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio fischeri

Present addresses: 3Research Collaboration Center on Emerging and Re-emerging Infections, and 4International Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan


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