Occurrence of homologs of the Escherichia coli lytB gene in gram-negative bacterial species

The lytB gene of Escherichia coli encodes a protein that contributes in the regulation of guanosine 3'5'-bispyrophosphate metabolism. The gene is also involved in temperature sensitivity as well as penicillin tolerance. A fragment of the lytB gene is used as a probe to determine the occurrence of similar genes in other bacteria. Southern blot studies revealed that similar genes are present among gram-negative bacteria.