Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
J. Bacteriol., Oct 1996, 5946-5953, Vol 178, No. 20
P Rosa, DS Samuels, D Hogan, B Stevenson, S Casjens and K Tilly
Studies of the biology of Borrelia burgdorferi and the pathogenesis of Lyme
disease are severely limited by the current lack of genetic tools. As an
initial step toward facile genetic manipulation of this pathogenic
spirochete, we have investigated gene inactivation by allelic exchange
using a mutated borrelial gyrB gene that confers resistance to the
antibiotic coumermycin A1 as a selectable marker. We have transformed B.
burgdorferi by electroporation with a linear fragment of DNA in which this
selectable marker was flanked by sequences from a native borrelial 26-kb
circular plasmid. We have identified coumermycin A1-resistant transformants
in which gyrB had interrupted the targeted site on the 26-kb plasmid via
homologous recombination with the flanking sequences. Antibiotic resistance
conferred by the mutated gyrB gene on the plasmid is dominant, and
transformed spirochetes carrying this plasmid do not contain any unaltered
copies of the plasmid. Coumermycin A1 resistance can be transferred to
naive B. burgdorferi by transformation with borrelial plasmid DNA from the
initial transformants. This work represents the first example of a directed
mutation in B. burgdorferi whereby a large segment of heterologous DNA
(gyrB) has been inserted via homologous recombination with flanking
sequences, thus demonstrating the feasibility of specific gene inactivation
by allelic exchange.
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology
Directed insertion of a selectable marker into a circular plasmid of Borrelia burgdorferi
Laboratory of Microbial Structure and Function, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA. patricia_rosa@nih.gov
This article has been cited by other articles:
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»