Mobile elements of an Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 85-MDa plasmid involved in replicon fusions.

ABSTRACT

Sequence analysis of approximately 25kb of an Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 85-MDa ( approximately 142kb) plasmid, p85, identified two novel IS elements mediating p85 fusions with a suicide plasmid vector, pJFF350. These IS elements, 1465-bp ISAzba1 and 1112-bp ISAzba3, belong to the IS256 family and to the IS5 family/IS903 group, respectively. Truncated ISAzba2 from the ISL3 family was found near one of the copies of ISAzba1 that flank pJFF350 in p85pJFF350. As another factor potentially contributing to the known genetic plasticity of p85, a phage integrase gene was identified in this plasmid.