Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene cluster encoding ribosomal proteins S12 and S7 from Mycobacterium bovis BCG

A pair of oligonucleotide primers, based on the experimentally determined amino terminal sequence of Mycobacterium bovis BCG ribosomal protein S12 (MboS12) and a highly conserved sequence found in all mycobacterial ribosomal S12 proteins, was used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with M. bovis genomic DNA as template. The nucleotide sequence of the 338 bp fragment thus produced confirmed its origin in MboS12 gene. A 5.0 kb EcoRI fragment of M. bovis DNA hybridizing to this fragment was cloned. Its sequencing analysis revealed the presence of two open reading frames in the same strand. Their amino acid sequences deduced from DNA sequence showed high homology with Escherichia coli ribosomal proteins S12 and S7. However, the intercistronic region between S12 and S7 genes, which plays an important role for autoregulation for the str operon in E. coli, is completely absent in M. bovis.