Disease relevance of bcr

• When a tnaA-disrupted E. coli strain expressing the altered cysE gene was transformed with a plasmid carrying the bcr gene, the transformant exhibited more L-cysteine production than cells carrying the vector only [1].
• A new mutation designated sur was isolated as a suppressor of a mutation in the uvsX gene of T4 phage [2].

High impact information on bcr

• Comparison of the restriction maps of the amplified DNA, wild-type DNA, and sur-containing plasmids showed that a DNA rearrangement occurred before or concomitant with the DNA amplification event [3].
• The amplified DNA contained a gene designated sur that contributed to sulfathiazole resistance when present in greater amounts than those in the wild type [3].
• A reporter gene assay suggested that the bcr gene is constitutively expressed at a substantial level [1].
• This increased degradation of host DNA might be a reflection of a compensatory increase in an alternate DNA repair activity in the [sur] mutant [2].

Biological context of bcr

• The DNA rearrangement resulted from an IS5 insertion, which, in conjunction with an IS5 element residing near sur in the wild-type strain, resulted in an -IS5-sur-IS5- configuration [3].

References