Analysis of the genome of Symbiobacterium toebii by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

We have studied the genome of an obligately commensal thermophile, Symbiobacterium toebii. The chromosome was extracted from pure cultures of S. toebii recently established. Total DNA of S. toebii was resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) into discrete numbers of fragments by digestion with the endonuclease SspI, SpeI, XbaI, and HpaI. Estimated sizes of fragments produced by the four enzymes and their sum consistently yielded a total genome size of 2.8 Mb. Because restriction endonucleases NotI and SwaI, recognizing 8 bp, released too many fragments, these enzymes could not be used for the estimation of the genome size. Considering no mobility of undigested genome under PFGE, the genome of S. toebii appears to be circular. The presence of extrachromosomal DNA in S. toebii was excluded by the results of the conventional 1% agarose gel electrophoresis and the field inversion gel electrophoresis of undigested S. toebii DNA.