The toluene degradative transposon Tn4651 is included within another transposon, Tn4653, and both of these elements are members of the Tn3 family. The tnpA gene product of each element mediates formation of cointegrates as intermediate products of transposition, and the tnpS and tnpT gene products encoded by Tn4651 take part in resolution of both Tn4651-and Tn4653-mediated cointegrates. Sequence analysis demonstrated that Tn4651 and Tn4653 have 46-and 38-base-pair terminal inverted repeats, respectively, and that both elements generate 5-basevpair duplication of the target sequence upon transposition. Complementation tests of the Tn4651-and Tn4653-encoded transposition functions with those of Tn3, Tn2l, and Tnl721 showed that (i) the trans-acting transposition functions encoded by Tn4651 were not interchangeable with those encoded by the four other transposons, (ii) the Tn4653 tnpA function was interchangeable with the Tnl721 function, and (iii) Tn4653 coded for a resolvase (tnpR gene product) that complemented the tnpR mutations of Tn2l and Tn)721. The Tn4653 tnpR gene was located just 5' upstream of the tnpA gene and shared extensive sequence homology with the Tnl721 tnpR gene. The res region was located adjacent to the tnpR gene, and sequence analysis indicated that failure of the Tn4653 tnpR product to resolve the Tn4653-mediated cointegrates is ascribed to an incomplete structure of the res region.The Tn3-related (class II) transposons usually transpose by a two-step process by using two trans-acting factors (for a review, see reference 8). The tnpA product, transposase, catalyzes the first step, formation of a cointegrate of donor and target DNA molecules connected by two directly repeated copies of the element, one at each junction. The tnpR product, resolvase, catalyzes the second step, site-specific resolution of the cointegrate between the two res regions. These class II transposons are also similar structurally, duplicating 5 base pairs (bp) of the target sequence upon insertion, having short (35-to 48-bp) terminal inverted repeats (IRs) of related sequences, and having some homology at the amino acid sequence level for their transposases as well as resolvases. In general, this class of transposons can be classified into two distinct groups, i.e., the Tn3 and Tnl721 groups, based on the organization of their transposition genes and on the interchangeability of the resolution functions ( Fig. 1; 5). The latter group can be further divided into the Tn2l and TnJ721-TnSOl subgroups based on the interchangeability of the cointegration functions ( Fig. 1; 6).A set of toluene degrading (xyl) genes on the Pseudomonas TOL plasmid pWWO are located in the 56-kilobase (kb) transposon Tn4651 (23), and this element is in turn included within a 70-kb transposon designated Tn4653 (24). Both elements also transpose through the formation of the cointegrates, and their respective tnpA genes, which independently mediate the cointegration, exhibit the genetic properties common to those specified by the usual class II tran...

Propionibacterium acnes is a human skin commensal that resides preferentially within sebaceous follicles and is the only microorganism that has been isolated from sarcoid lesions. We report the complete genome sequence of P. acnes, which was isolated from a Japanese patient with sarcoidosis.

e Streptococcus mutans is the major pathogen of dental caries and occasionally causes infective endocarditis. Here we report the complete genome sequence of serotype k S. mutans strain LJ23, which was recently isolated from the oral cavity of a Japanese patient.

Summary γ-Glutamyl cyclotransferase (GGCT) contributes to the γ-glutamyl cycle that regulates glutathione metabolism. Although GGCT has been implicated in several studies as a possible cancer marker, little is known about its distribution in cells and tissues. The authors investigated GGCT expression in normal tissues and tumors using Western blots and immunohistochemistry with a novel anti-GGCT monoclonal antibody. GGCT was detected in most organs and was mainly found in epithelial cells. Although the intracellular distribution was mainly cytoplasmic, in some situations, nuclear staining was strong. A significant increase in the expression of GGCT was found in tumors of the lung, esophagus, stomach, bile duct, and uterine cervix. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in expression in renal and urothelial tumors. These results suggest that GGCT may be a biomarker of tumors in a limited range of organs. (J Histochem Cytochem 60:76-86, 2012)