Cells were routinely grown in LB medium containing 1% Bacto Tryptone (Difco), 0.5% yeast extract (Difco), and 0.5% NaCl with or without antibiotics at 50 μg/ml for ampicillin (Wako, Osaka, Japan) and 30 μg/ml for kanamycin (Wako, Osaka, Japan). Glucose, L-arabinose, and other chemicals were from Wako (Osaka, Japan). DpnI was from New England Biolabs (MA, USA); Taq polymerase, TaKaRa Ex Taq, and agarose, SeaKem GTG Agarose from Takara Shuzo Inc. E-Gel 96 systems were from Invitrogen. MOPS medium was prepared as described elsewhere (Wanner, 1994 ).