An improved transposon (ThD73) for Haloarcula hispanica is described. Based on the halobacterial insertion sequence ISH28, it showed little target sequence specificity but was biased toward a lower G+C content. Twenty randomly selected ThD73 mutants were analyzed, and the DNA flanking their insertions revealed several recognizable sequences, including two (unrelated) ISH elements.

Article history: Received on: 11/04/2016 Revised on: 09/05/2016 Accepted on: 24/06/2016 Available online: 29/10/2016 Drug resistance in microorganisms is an emerging phenomenon that poses challenges to public health and treatment. The reservoir of drug resistance genes found in the resistome of environmental isolates in aquatic saline systems has been augmenting continuously. The spread of drug...

A novel haloarchaeal strain, Haloarcula sp. strain D1, grew aerobically on 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4HBA) as a sole carbon and energy source and is the first member of the domain Archaea reported to do so. Unusually, D1 metabolized 4HBA via gentisic acid rather than via protocatechuic acid, hydroquinone, or catechol. Gentisate was detected in 4HBA-grown cultures, and gentisate 1,2-dioxygenase act...

In an effort to discover novel catalytic bioscavengers of organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents, cell lysates from a diverse set of bacterial strains were screened for their capacity to hydrolyze the OP nerve agents VX, VR, and soman (GD). The library of bacterial strains was identified using both random and rational approaches. Specifically, two representative strains from eight categories of ext...

Four species representing three genera of halophilic archaebacteria were examined for the presence of genomic sequences that encode proteins of the superoxide dismutase family. Three species, Halobacterium cutirubrum, Halobacterium sp. strain GRB, and Haloferax volcanii, contain duplicated (paralogous) genes of the sod family; a fourth species, Haloarcula marismortui, contains only a single gen...

More than one copy of rRNA operons, which code for both the small-subunit (SSU) and large-subunit (LSU) rRNA, are often found in prokaryotes. It is generally assumed that all rRNA operons within a single cell are almost identical. A notable exception is the extremely halophilic archaeal genus Haloarcula, most species of which are known to harbor highly divergent rRNA operons that differ at appr...

Pseudouridines are found in virtually all ribosomal RNAs but their function is unknown. There are four to eight times more pseudouridines in eukaryotes than in eubacteria. Mapping 19 Haloarcula marismortui pseudouridines on the three-dimensional 50S subunit does not show clustering. In bacteria, specific enzymes choose the site of pseudouridine formation. In eukaryotes, and probably also in arc...

Haloarcula hispanica has been widely used in haloarchaeal studies, particularly in the isolation of haloviruses. The genome of strain N601, a laboratory derivative of the type strain ATCC 33960, was sequenced. Several potentially significant differences from the published sequence of the type strain (CGMCC 1.2049 = ATCC 33960) were observed.