Purification of a new restriction endonuclease, StyI, from Escherichia coli carrying the hsd+ miniplasmid.

A new restriction endonuclease, StyI, free of contaminating nuclease activities, has been isolated from Escherichia coli carrying the hsd+ miniplasmid of Salmonella typhi origin. In the presence of 10 mM Mg2+, it recognizes and cleaves a hexanucleotide sequence of 5'-C decreases C(AT)(AT)GG. The advantages of the StyI endonuclease include its stability, high yield (more than 2 X 10(3) units/g of wet cells), easy handling of producer cells, and the ability to recognize new sequences, CCAAGG and CCTTGG.