Entry exclusion determinant(s) of IncN plasmid pKM101

pKM101 renders its host a poor recipient in conjugal matings with genetically distinguishable derivatives of itself. The gene(s) primarily responsible for this, denoted eex, is located in between genes required for both conjugal transfer and sensitivity to donor-specific bacteriophage, although it itself is not necessary for transfer. A gene linked to, or coincident with, the region needed for vegetative plasmid replication also inhibited establishment of related plasmids under certain conditions. Construction of an operon fusion between eex and the Escherichia coli lac promoter has shown that this gene is transcribed in a clockwise fashion on the circular map of pKM101. To date, we have not been able to visualize a protein product(s) of the eex gene(s).