A physical and genetic map of the Stigmatella aurantiaca DW4/3.1 chromosome

Summary A physical map of the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca DW4/3.1 chromosome was constructed by pulsed‐field gel (PFG) long‐range mapping. One‐and two‐dimensional pulsed‐field gel analyses were used together with reciprocal double‐restriction, cross‐hybridization and hybridization fingerprint analysis. These PFG results were confirmed by Smith‐Birnstiel analysis, by Southern hybridization using linking clones and clones of a λ genomic library for the determination of adjacent restriction fragments and by transposon insertion mapping using defined genomic sequences for hybridization. It was thus possible to construct a circular restriction map of the single 9.35 Mbp chromosome of S. aurantiaca based on the endonucleases Asel and Spel. Genetic loci as well as the replication origin were located on the physical map by Southern hybridization using heterologous (derived from Myxococcus xanthus, Escherichia coli and Streptomyces lividans) and homologous probes that are mainly involved in development and ceil motility.