Expression of chloramhenicol acetyltransferase in Bacillus subtilis under the control of a phytoplasma promoter.

A cloned putative promoter region upstream of the 16S rRNA gene of the western X-disease phytoplasma was inserted behind the promoterless chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene of plasmid pPL603. The DNA construct was used to transform Bacillus subtilis cells. The transformants were assayed for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity, showing that the phytoplasma promoter is efficiently expressed in a B. subtilis background. ß 2001 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.