A gene, cluA, was cloned from the chromosomally located sex factor of Lactococcus lactis MG1363. Sequence analysis revealed significant homology with previously described aggregation proteins in Enterococcus and Streptococcus species. The possibility that cluA was an equivalent protein involved in cell aggregation between donor and recipient bacteria during lactococcal conjugation was confirmed by its expression under the control of a heterologous promoter in L. lactis. Analysis of the homology between the CluA protein and the related proteins of Enterococcus and Streptococcus allowed a common structure for these proteins to be postulated. This consisted of five domains. Functionally conserved domains I and V act respectively as a secretory leader and C-terminal membrane anchor. Domains II and IV are conserved at the amino acid level and probably have common structural roles whereas domain III is variable and may control binding specificity.

There is widespread speculation that sewage treatment plants (STPs) and aquatic environments in general may be breeding grounds for antibiotic resistant bacteria. We examine the question of whether low concentrations of antibiotics in STPs can provide or contribute to a selective pressure facilitating the acquisition or proliferation of antibiotic resistance among bacteria in the receiving environment. Examination of available literature suggests that relative levels of antibiotic resistance may be increased during sewage treatment processes. However, it is unclear whether this may be partially the result of horizontal gene transfer or entirely due to clonal propagation. While there is circumstantial evidence that the presence of antibiotics or other related genetic promoters in STP wastewaters may contribute to selective pressures for these processes, a definite role is yet to be demonstrated. Future researchers would benefit from the application of non-culture-based techniques because culture limits the possible observations to a small subset of STP microbial diversity.

A gene for the lysin of Lactococcus lactis bacteriphage phi vML3 was cloned using an Escherichia coli/bacteriophage lambda host-vector system. The gene was detected by its expression of antimicrobial activity against L. lactis cells in a bioassay. The cloned fragment was analysed by sub-cloning on to E. coli plasmid vectors and by restriction endonuclease and deletion mapping. Its entire DNA sequence was determined and an open reading frame for the lysin structural gene was identified. The sequenced lysin gene would express a protein of 187 amino acids with a molecular weight of 21,090, which is in good agreement with that of a protein detected after in vitro transcription and translation of DNA encoding the gene. Expression of the lysin gene in E. coli and B. subtilis from an adjacent bacteriophage promoter was readily detected but in L. lactis expression of lysin was found to be lethal. The bacteriophage phi vML3 lysin had sequence homology with protein 15 of B. subtilis bacteriophage PZA. This protein is involved in DNA packaging during bacteriophage maturation rather than in host cell lysis. The cloning and analysis of the phi vML3 lysin gene is of importance in further understanding lactic streptococcal bacteriophages, for the development of positive selection vectors and for biotechnological applications of relevance to the dairy industry.