Transposition of IST2 in Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

The genome of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans contains at least two different repetitive DNA elements. One of these elements, termed IS T2 has been sequenced and shown to exhibit the characteristics of a typical prokaryotic insertion sequence. Furthermore, preliminary evidence has implicated IS T2 in genomic rearrangements, although the mechanism of rearrangement, whether by transposition or recombination, has not been established. In this report we provide evidence from detailed restriction enzyme analyses and DNA sequencing data that support a model of transposition, consistent with the notion that IS T2 is a mobile insertion sequence. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve