Cloning and Physical Analysis of the PyrF Gene (coding for Orotidine-5'-phosphate Decarboxylase) from Escherichia Coli K-12

The structural gene (pyrF) for orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase (OMPase, EC 4.1.1.23) of Escherichia coli K-12 has been cloned as part of two PvuII fragments (1.2 and 0.9 kb) to form the recombinant plasmid pDK26. Extracts of E. coli [pDK26] had 80-fold higher levels of OMPase activity than wild-type strains without the plasmid. Maxicell analysis showed that pDK26 encoded two proteins of Mr 27 000 [pyrF(OMPase)] and 15 000 (Z) in addition to the ampicillin-resistance determinant. The approximate initiation site and direction of transcription of the pyrF gene have been determined. Extracts of strains that were deficient in polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) had higher levels of OMPase activity than isogenic PNPase+ strains when one or two copies of the pyrF gene were present per cell either in the chromosome or on a low copy number plasmid. However, no significant difference in OMPase activity was seen in PNPase- strains that contained the pyrF gene cloned in a multicopy plasmid. Southern hybridization experiments showed that the yeast gene for OMPase (URA3) and the E. coli pyrF gene had less than 70% DNA sequence homology.