Patent 7501282 was granted and assigned to AJINOMOTO CO., INC. on March, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A gene isolated from a microorganism selected from the group consisting of Pantoea bacteria, Erwinia bacteria, and Enterobacter bacteria, and encoding a Rep protein or a homologue thereof is described. A plasmid containing the gene which is autonomously replicable in Enterobacteriaceae bacteria is also described. A Enterobacteriaceae microorganism containing the plasmid is also described.