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Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene

Bibliography: pages 111-124.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hart, Stephen Lewis
Other Authors: Woods, David R
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author Hart, Stephen Lewis
author2 Woods, David R
author_browse Hart, Stephen Lewis
Woods, David R
author_facet Woods, David R
Hart, Stephen Lewis
author_sort Hart, Stephen Lewis
collection Thesis
description Bibliography: pages 111-124.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:34:25.395Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
publisherStr Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17340 Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene Hart, Stephen Lewis Woods, David R Molecular and Cell Biology Bibliography: pages 111-124. The screening of a Rhodococcus gene bank in Escherichia coli lead to the discovery of a pigment-producing clone. Initial studies revealed a blue component and a pink component in bacterial pigment preparations and suggested that they were different from the prodigiosins and actinorhodins produced by other actinomycetes. This dissertation represents a further analysis of the genetics and biochemistry of pigment production, and the development of an insertional-inactivation cloning vector utilizing the Rhodococcus pigment gene. The DNA of the pigment-producing clone was analysed by restriction mapping and sequenced. A 'single Rhodococcus gene of 1.1 kbp was found to be responsible for pigment production in E. coli. This gene had a putative ribosome binding site and coded for an enzyme of Mr 42,560. Deletion analysis and in vitro transcription-translation experiments supported the hypothesis that pigment production in E. coli was due to a single enzyme. The gene and gene product did not show any similarity when compared with nucleotide and protein sequences in computer data bases. Evidence was obtained from bacterial studies that the pigment pathway involved the conversion of tryptophan to indole by tryptophanase of E. coli and then to the pigment by the action of the cloned Rhodococcus gene. The solubility properties of the pigment, TLC analysis and NMR and visible spectrophotometry supported the hypothesis that the blue pigment was indigo and that the red pigment was indirubin, an isomer of indigo. An insertional-inactivation cloning vector, pSLH8, was developed containing the pigment gene as a marker. The advantages of this vector were that it produced pigmented colonies on LB agar plates without any further requirement for expensive substrates such as X-Gal ,which is required by the pUC series of vectors, and it is capable of being used in any E. coli strain whereas the pUC plasmids require special mutant strains for the detection of recombinants. 2016-02-29T12:01:33Z 2016-02-29T12:01:33Z 1991 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17340 eng application/pdf Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Molecular and Cell Biology
Hart, Stephen Lewis
Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene
title_full Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene
title_fullStr Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene
title_short Characterization of pigment production by Escherichia Coli containing a cloned Rhodococcus gene
title_sort characterization of pigment production by escherichia coli containing a cloned rhodococcus gene
topic Molecular and Cell Biology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17340
work_keys_str_mv AT hartstephenlewis characterizationofpigmentproductionbyescherichiacolicontainingaclonedrhodococcusgene