scholarly journals Donor plasmids for phenotypically neutral chromosomal gene insertions in Enterobacteriaceae

Microbiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 166 (12) ◽  
pp. 1115-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma R. Holden ◽  
Gregory J. Wickham ◽  
Mark A. Webber ◽  
Nicholas M. Thomson ◽  
Eleftheria Trampari

Recombineering using bacteriophage lambda Red recombinase (λ-Red) uses homologous recombination to manipulate bacterial genomes and is commonly applied to disrupt genes to elucidate their function. This is often followed by the introduction of a wild-type copy of the gene on a plasmid to complement its function. This is often not, however, at a native copy number and the introduction of a chromosomal version of a gene can be a desirable solution to provide wild-type copy expression levels of an allele in trans. Here, we present a simple methodology based on the λ-Red-based ‘gene doctoring’ technique, where we developed tools used for chromosomal tagging in a conserved locus downstream of glmS and found no impact on a variety of important phenotypes. The tools described provide an easy, quick and inexpensive method of chromosomal modification for the creation of a library of insertion mutants to study gene function.

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Sasaki ◽  
Youko Miki ◽  
Takayuki Ibi ◽  
Hiroyuki Wakaguri ◽  
Yuichi Yoshida ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Calf mortality generally occurs in calves prior to weaning, which is a serious problem in cattle breeding. Several causative variants of monogenic Mendelian disorders in calf mortality have been identified, whereas genetic factors affecting the susceptibility of calves to death are not well known. To identify variants associated with calf mortality in Japanese Black cattle, we evaluated calf mortality as a categorical trait with a threshold model and performed a genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) association study on calf mortality. Results We identified a 44-kb deleted-type CNV ranging from 103,317,687 to 103,361,802 bp on chromosome 5, which was associated with the mortality of 1–180-day-old calves. The CNV harbored C1RL, a pseudogene, and an IncRNA localized in the C1R and C1S gene cluster, which is a component of the classical complement activation pathway for immune complexes for infectious pathogens. The average complement activity in CNVR_221 homozygotes at postnatal day 7 was significantly lower than that of wild-type animals and heterozygotes. The frequency of the risk allele in dead calves suffering from diarrhea and pneumonia and in healthy cows was 0.35 and 0.28, respectively (odds ratio = 2.2, P = 0.016), suggesting that CNVR_221 was associated with the mortality of Japanese Black calves suffering from an infectious disease. Conclusions This study identified a deleted-type CNV associated with the mortality of 1–180-day-old calves. The complement activity in CNVR_221 homozygotes was significantly lower than that in heterozygotes and wild type animals. The frequency of the risk allele was higher in dead calves suffering from an infectious disease than in healthy cows. These results suggest that the existence of CNVR_221 in calves could be attributed to a reduction in complement activity, which in turn leads to susceptibility to infections. Thus, the risk allele could serve as a useful marker to reduce the mortality of infected Japanese Black calves.


1991 ◽  
Vol 142 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 141-149
Author(s):  
T. Goebel ◽  
D. Manen ◽  
C. Alff-Steinberger ◽  
G.X. Xia ◽  
L. Caro
Keyword(s):  

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 665-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Visalli ◽  
Ellen Murphy ◽  
Steven J. Projan ◽  
Patricia A. Bradford

ABSTRACT Tigecycline has good broad-spectrum activity against many gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens with the notable exception of the Proteeae. A study was performed to identify the mechanism responsible for the reduced susceptibility to tigecycline in Proteus mirabilis. Two independent transposon insertion mutants of P. mirabilis that had 16-fold-increased susceptibility to tigecycline were mapped to the acrB gene homolog of the Escherichia coli AcrRAB efflux system. Wild-type levels of decreased susceptibility to tigecycline were restored to the insertion mutants by complementation with a clone containing a PCR-derived fragment from the parental wild-type acrRAB efflux gene cluster. The AcrAB transport system appears to be associated with the intrinsic reduced susceptibility to tigecycline in P. mirabilis.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3609-3613
Author(s):  
L Jiang ◽  
A Connor ◽  
M J Shulman

Homologous recombination between transferred and chromosomal DNA can be used for mapping mutations by marker rescue, i.e., by identifying which segment of wild-type DNA can recombine with the mutant chromosomal gene and restore normal function. In order to define how much the fragments should overlap each other for reliable mapping, we have measured how the frequency of marker rescue is affected by the position of the chromosomal mutation relative to the ends of the transferred DNA fragments. For this purpose, we used several DNA fragments to effect marker rescue in two mutant hybridomas which bear mutations 673 bp apart in the exons encoding the second and third constant region domains of the immunoglobulin mu heavy chain. The frequency of marker rescue decreased greatly when the mutation was located near one of the ends of the fragments, the results indicating that fragments should be designed to overlap by at least several hundred base pairs. Possible explanations for this "end effect" are considered.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 6419-6432
Author(s):  
C C Chiang ◽  
J C Kennell ◽  
L A Wanner ◽  
A M Lambowitz

The Mauriceville and Varkud mitochondrial plasmids of Neurospora spp. are closely related, small circular DNAs that propagate via an RNA intermediate and reverse transcription. Although the plasmids ordinarily replicate autonomously, they can also integrate into mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), yielding defective mtDNAs that in some cases cause senescence. To investigate the integration mechanism, we analyzed four cases in which the Varkud plasmid integrated into the mitochondrial small rRNA gene, three in wild-type subcultures and one in a senescent mutant. Our analysis suggests that the integrations occurred by the plasmid reverse transcriptase template switching between the plasmid transcript and internal sequences in the mitochondrial small rRNA to yield hybrid cDNAs that circularized and recombined homologously with the mtDNA. The integrated plasmid sequences are transcribed, presumably from the mitochondrial small rRNA promoters, resulting in hybrid RNAs containing the 5' segment of the mitochondrial small rRNA linked head-to-tail to the full-length plasmid transcript. Analysis of additional senescent mutants revealed three cases in which the plasmid used the same mechanism to integrate at other locations in the mtDNA. In these cases, circular variant plasmids that had incorporated a mitochondrial tRNA or tRNA-like sequence by template switching integrated by homologous recombination at the site of the corresponding tRNA or tRNA-like sequence in mtDNA. This simple integration mechanism involving template switching to generate a hybrid cDNA that integrates homologously could have been used by primitive retroelements prior to the acquisition of a specialized integration machinery.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5710-5717
Author(s):  
E A Malone ◽  
C D Clark ◽  
A Chiang ◽  
F Winston

SPT16 was previously identified as a high-copy-number suppressor of delta insertion mutations in the 5' regions of the HIS4 and LYS2 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have constructed null mutations in the SPT16 gene and have demonstrated that it is essential for growth. Temperature-sensitive-lethality spt16 alleles have been isolated and shown to be pleiotropic; at a temperature permissive for growth, spt16 mutations suppress delta insertion mutations, a deletion of the SUC2 upstream activating sequence, and mutations in trans-acting genes required for both SUC2 and Ty expression. In addition, SPT16 is identical to CDC68, a gene previously shown to be required for passage through the cell cycle control point START. However, at least some transcriptional effects caused by spt16 mutations are independent of arrest at START. These results and those in the accompanying paper (A. Rowley, R. A. Singer, and G. C. Johnston, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:5718-5726, 1991) indicate that SPT16/CDC68 is required for normal transcription of many loci in S. cerevisiae.


DNA Repair ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shauna A. Lee ◽  
Céline Roques ◽  
Alissa C. Magwood ◽  
Jean-Yves Masson ◽  
Mark D. Baker

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen M. Mundia ◽  
Alissa C. Magwood ◽  
Mark D. Baker

ABSTRACTIn this study, we utilized mouse hybridoma cell lines stably expressing ectopic wild-type Rad51, or the Rad51-K133A and Rad51-K133R catalytic mutants deficient in ATP binding and ATP hydrolysis, respectively, to investigate effects on the Rad51 nucleoprotein filament in vivo. Immunoprecipitation studies reveal interactions between ectopic wild-type Rad51, Rad51-K133A and Rad51-K133R and endogenous Rad51, Brca2 and p53 proteins. Importantly, the expression of Rad51-K133A and Rad51-K133R catalytic mutants (but not wild-type Rad51) targets endogenous Rad51, Brca2 and p53 proteins for proteasome-mediated degradation. Expression of Rad51-K133R significantly reduces nascent DNA synthesis (3’ polymerization) during homologous recombination (HR), but the effects of Rad51-K133A on 3’ polymerization are considerably more severe. Provision of additional wild-type Rad51 in cell lines expressing Rad51-K133A or Rad51-K133R does not restore diminished levels of endogenous Brca2, Rad51 or p53, nor restore the deficiency in 3’ polymerization. Cells expressing Rad51-K133A are also significantly reduced in their capacity to drive strand exchange through regions of heterology. Our results reveal an interesting mechanistic dichotomy in the way mutant Rad51-K133A and Rad51-K133R proteins influence 3’ polymerization and provide novel insight into the mechanism of their dominant-negative phenotypes.


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