Purification of the β product encoded by the Streptococcus pyogenes plasmid pSM19035

Genetic evidence suggests that the gene beta product of Streptococcus pyogenes plasmid pSM19035 is required for converting plasmid multimers into monomers. The beta protein was purified from cells overexpressing the cloned gene. N-terminal protein sequence analysis demonstrated that the purified protein had the predicted sequence, except that the N-terminal initiator methionine was not present. Native beta protein consists of a dimer of two identical subunits with a molecular mass of 23.8 kDa (25 kDa in SDS-PAGE). The beta protein (isoelectric point of 9.7) binds specifically to a DNA fragment (312 bp in length) which contains the promoter region of the orf alpha-gene beta operon and two regions (sites I and II) that show dyad axes of symmetry. It is proposed that protein beta binds to sites I and II to mediate resolution of plasmid oligomers.