Polypeptide Synthesis in Escherichia coli Directed by Cloned Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus DNA

Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus DNA was isolated after treatment of the cells with bacitracin in a sucrose containing growth medium. Hind III restriction fragments of the DNA were inserted into an expression vector plasmid. The newly constructed plasmids when introduced into E. coli gave rise to the synthesis of polypeptides coded for by the methanogen DNA. The expression of genetic information from the Methanobrevibacter DNA in E. coli is efficient as judged by the total molecular weight of the polypeptides found as compared to the length of the Methanobrevibacter DNA carried on the plasmids.