Fig. 1

Structure of the plasmid p#5. p#5 contains the modified Hfq gene from S. meliloti with sequence (red) for an affinity His-tag to produce Hfq^His. The gene is cloned under the regulation of the native Hfq gene promoter (P_hfqsm) [37]. p#5, a derivative of pBBR1MCS-5 [38], also carries a gentamicin resistance gene (Gm^r), the broad host range replication (rep) origin and the sequence (mob) allowing for conjugal mobilization