Work

Employing Site-Specific Recombination for Conditional Genetic Analysis in Sinorhizobium meliloti

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: The ability to remove a genetic function from an organism with good temporal resolution is crucial for characterizing essential genes or genes that act in complex developmental programs. The rhizobium-legume symbiosis involves an elaborate two-organism interaction requiring multiple levels of signal exchange. As an important step toward probing rhizobium genetic functions with temporal resolution, we present the development of a conditional gene deletion system in Sinorhizobium meliloti that employs Cre/loxP site-specific recombination. This system enables chemically inducible and irreversible gene deletion or gene upregulation. Recombinase-mediated excision events can be positively or negatively selected or monitored by a colorimetric assay. The system may be adaptable to various bacterial species, in which recombinase activity may be placed under the control of diverse user-defined promoters. This system also shows promise for uses in promoter trapping and biosensing applications.

Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

DOI: 10.1128/aem.00544-11

Authors: Clarice L. Harrison, Matthew B. Crook, Gledi Peco, Sharon R. Long, Joel S. Griffitts

Institutions: Brigham Young University, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Awards: Modulation of two-component signaling in alphaproteobacteria, Control of Symbiotic Gene Expression in Sinorhizobium meliloti, G6060926015, G7594227647