Molecular cloning and mapping of 16S-23S rRNA gene complexes of Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus BB255, a derivative of NCTC8325, had six rRNA operons, and each operon contained two SmaI sites about 3 kb apart. By molecular cloning and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, all operons were mapped at the junctions of SmaI fragments in the published map of NCTC8325 except one, which was connected to a previously unidentified 23-kb SmaI fragment.