Genetic and physical studies of lambda transducing bacteriophage carrying the beta subunit gene of the Escherichia coli ribonucleic acid polymerase.

The prophage lambdac1857 was inserted into the bfe gene located near rif (the structural gene for the beta subunit of deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA]-dependent ribonucleic acid polymerase) on the Escherichia coli chromosome. Induced lysates (low-frequency transducing lysates) of such a lysogen contained defective lambda phage particles (lambdadrif+) that can specifically transduce the wild-type rif+ gene. Upon transduction into a recipient strain carrying recA, heterogenotes harboring both the wild-type and the mutant rif genes were isolated. Rec+ derivatives of these heterogenotes produce high-frequency transducing lysates that contain lambdadrif+ and normal active phages at a ratio of 1 to 2. The results of marker rescue experiments and of density determination with several transducing phages indicate that most of the late genes are deleted and replaced by a segment of the chromosomal DNA carrying the bfe-rif region. The length of the chromosomal segment seems to vary between approximately 0.5 and 0.6% of the total bacterial DNA among the three independently isolated lambdadrif+ phages. Electron microscopy of heteroduplex DNA consisting of one strand from lambdadrif+-6 and the other from lambdaimm-21 phages directly confirmed that most of the phage DNA of the "left arm" was replaced by the bacterial DNA. The heteroduplex study also demonstrated that the integration of prophage lambda into the bfe region occurred at the normal cross-over point within the phage attachment site.     

Direct and general selection for lysogens of Escherichia coli by phage lambda recombinant clones.

We report a simple in vivo technique for introducing an antibiotic resistance marker into phage lambda. This technique could be used for direct selection of lysogens harboring recombinant phages from the Kohara lambda bank (a collection of ordered lambda clones carrying Escherichia coli DNA segments). The two-step method uses homologous recombination and lambda DNA packaging to replace the nonessential lambda DNA lying between the lysis genes and the right cohesive (cos) end with the neomycin phosphotransferase (npt) gene from Tn903. This occurs during lytic growth of the phage on a plasmid-containing host strain. Neomycin-resistant (npt+) recombinant phages are then selected from the lysates containing the progeny phage by transduction of a polA1 lambda lysogenic host strain to neomycin resistance. We have tested this method with two different Kohara lambda phage clones; in both cases, neomycin resistance cotransduced with the auxotrophic marker carried by the lambda clone, indicating complete genetic linkage. Linkage was verified by restriction mapping of purified DNA from a recombinant phage clone. We also demonstrate that insertion of the npt+ recombinant phages into the lambda prophage can be readily distinguished from insertion into bacterial chromosomal sequences.     

Isolation of a functional human interleukin 2 gene from a cosmid library by recombination in vivo

A method has been developed that allows the isolation of genomic clones from a cosmid library by homologous recombination in vivo. This method was used to isolate a human genomic interleukin 2 (IL2) gene. The genomic cosmid library was packaged in vivo into lambda phage particles. A recombination-proficient host strain carrying IL2 cDNA sequences in a non-homologous plasmid vector was infected by the packaged cosmid library. After in vivo packaging and reinfection, recombinants carrying the antibiotic resistance genes of both vectors were selected. From a recombinant cosmid clone the chromosomal IL2 gene was restored. After DNA mediated gene transfer into mouse Ltk- cells human IL2 was expressed constitutively.     

In vivo cloning of DNA into multicopy cosmids by mini-Mu-cosduction

Summary A general in vivo procedure for cloning Escherichia coli genes into cosmids has been developed. The method we describe here uses a deleted Mu phage (a mini-Mu) to transpose E. coli genes into cosmids during mini-Mu replication. The resulting cosmids clones are packaged in-vivo into phage particles. Plasmids carrying a particular DNA sequence can be selectively recovered after infection of a new host with the in vivo constructed genomic cosmid library. This system was used succesfully to clone several E. coli genes.Dedicated to Dr. Luis F. Leloir on the occasion of his 80th birthday, September 6, 1986     

cosmid克隆筛选的体内同源重组法——一个含有小鼠t复合体连锁DNA顺序的cosmid克隆的分离

一个从cosmid分子克隆库中筛选特别基因顺序的遗传学方法——体内同源重组(invlvo homologous recombination)法。即使探针DNA与分子克隆库中带有与探针同源顺序的克隆发生体内重组,然后以遗传学方法进行筛选。cosmid分子克隆库构建在rec宿主细胞内,经体内包装(in vivo Packaging)成λ噬菌体颗粒,把该噬菌体颗粒转入带有探针DNA的rec~+细胞内,探针是已被克隆在与cosmid载体没有同源顺序的质粒(如PUC8或PUC9)内的。经过一段时间(1—3小时),待重组发生后,把cosmid进行体内包装。此时探针DNA连同质粒已整合入cosmid基因组内,因此它带有原为两个载体所分别带有的双重抗性——Amp~r(氨苄青霉素,PUC8或PUC9)和Kan~r(卡那霉素,cosmid)。这种双重抗性菌落可在含有这2种抗菌素的培养平皿上选出,该重组cosmid借助于λ切除酶的作用将已被整合的探针质粒重新切除,再经体内包装后,该cosmid被还原并纯化,然后可用一含有Xgal的培皿识别和选出。本文用此法以有关DNA探针从cosmid分子克隆库中分离得到含有与小鼠t复合体连锁的基因组顺序的克隆,并对该克隆作了物理图谱分析。     

A phosphate group at the cos ends of phage lambda DNA is not a prerequisite for in vitro packaging: an alternative method for constructing genomic libraries using a new phasmid vector, lambda pGY97

It is shown here that the phosphate groups at the cos ends of phage lambda DNA are not a prerequisite for in vitro packaging. Molecules with phosphatase-treated cos ends are packaged in vitro as efficiently as native lambda DNA. This observation can be used for an alternative strategy to improve the efficiency of gene library construction, since cos-cos ligation decreases in vitro encapsidation and infectivity. Dephosphorylated cos ends and a new phasmid vector lambda pGY97 have been used to construct a representative gene bank of alfalfa in a Mcr- (5-methylcytosine restriction deficient) Escherichia coli host strain. These recombinant clones can be propagated as phages or more conveniently as plasmids in recA- E. coli, to prevent possible homologous recombination events between repetitive sequences of the insert that would otherwise interfere with clone stability. The 5-19-kb inserts can be easily recloned as plasmids from the recombinant phasmids with simple EcoRI digestion and re-ligation. This observation also implies that the construction of gene libraries in cosmid vectors can be made more efficient if cos-cos ligates were cleaved by lambda terminase just before in vitro packaging.     

Cosmid DNA packaging in vivo

The packaging of cosmid DNA into phage particles during phage lambda growth is described. Evidence is presented supporting the work of others that cosmid transducing phages contain linear multimers of cosmid DNA in which the number of cosmid copies is that required to make a packagable DNA length (greater than 0.77 of the lambda DNA length). The yield of cosmid transducing phages declines sharply as the number of cosmid copies required to make a packagable DNA length increases. The cosmid DNA replication that produces the packaging substrate shares with lambda rolling-circle replication a dependence on the lambda gam gene product.     

Structure and inherent properties of the bacteriophage lambda head shell. IV. Small-head mutants

Missense mutants of bacteriophage lambda that produce small proheads were found among prophage mutants defective in the major head protein gpE. Measurements of the sedimentation coefficient and molecular weight of the small proheads showed that they have the T = 4 structure composed of 240 molecules of gpE instead of the wild-type T = 7 structure composed of 420 molecules of gpE. When the phage mutants were grown in groE mutants of Escherichia coli, they produced small unprocessed proheads, which contained a smaller number (about 60) of the core protein (gpNu3) molecules than normal unprocessed proheads, which contain about 180 molecules of gpNu3. This shows that the major head protein determines the size of not only the shell but also the core of unprocessed proheads. These mutants by themselves produce very few mature small-headed phage particles, partly because the lambda DNA molecule, whose cos sites are separated at a distance of 48,500 bases, is too long to be packaged into the small proheads. However, the small proheads can package shorter DNA in vivo and in vitro at somewhat reduced efficiency, if the length or a multiple of the length between the cos sites of the DNA is 13,000 to 19,000 bases.     

In vivo DNA cloning with a mini-Mu replicon cosmid and a helper lambda phage

A mini-Mu bacteriophage, containing the cohesive-end packaging site (cos) from a lambda-phi 80 hybrid phage, a high-copy-number plasmid replicon, and a kanamycin-resistance gene for independent selection, was constructed to clone genes in vivo. This mini-Mu element can be derepressed to transpose at a high frequency. DNA segments that become flanked by copies of this mini-Mu element in the same orientation can be packaged by a helper lambda phage. The resulting lambda lysate can be used to infect recipient cells where the injected DNA can circularize by annealing at the cos termini. Drug-resistant transductants obtained carry the mini-Mu-replicon cosmid element with inserts of different nucleotide sequences. These are analogous to recombinant DNA clones generated in vitro with restriction endonuclease cutting and ligase joining reactions replaced by the Mu transposition process. Clones of particular genes were isolated by their ability to complement specific mutations. Both recA+ and recA- recipient cells can be used with equal efficiency. Clones obtained with a helper lambda phage require the presence of the cos site in the mini-Mu replicon. They carry larger inserts than those isolated with the same mini-Mu element and Mu as a helper phage. The mini-Mu replicon-cosmid bacteriophage contains a lac-gene fusing segment for isolating fusions of lac operon DNA to gene control regions in the cloned sequences. Independent clones of a particular gene can be used to prepare a restriction map of the gene and its flanking regions.     

Identification of sequences necessary for packaging DNA into lambda phage heads

Several species of DNA molecules are packaged into lambda phage heads if they carry the region around the cohesive end site of lambda phage (cos lambda). The minimal functional sequence around cos lambda needed for packaging was examined by cloning in pBR322. The results showed that the minimal region contained 85 bp around cos lambda; 45 bp of the left arm of lambda phage and 40 bp of the right arm. A 75-bp region located to the right of the minimal region seems to enhance packaging. A 223-bp fragment containing these regions can be used as a portable element for plasmid DNA packaging into lambda phage heads. Plasmid ppBest 322, a derivative of pBR322 carrying this portable packager and both amp and tet genes, was constructed. This plasmid is useful for cloning of large DNA fragments.     

Cloning of mini-mu bacteriophage in cosmids: in vivo packaging into phage lambda heads

A technique has been developed that permits the packaging of mini-Mu-carrying cosmids into phage lambda heads. This procedure has several advantages over packaging into Mu helper capsids: the amounts of DNA to be packaged can be increased, the packaging efficiency is improved, and the stability of transducing lysates is high.     

Processive action of terminase during sequential packaging of bacteriophage lambda chromosomes

Bacteriophage lambda chromosomes are packaged in a polarized, sequential fashion from a multimeric DNA substrate. Mature chromosomes are generated when terminase introduces staggered nicks in the cohesive end sites (cos sites) bounding a chromosome. Packaging is polarized, to the initial and terminal cos sites for packaging a chromosome can be defined. To initiate packaging, terminase binds to cos at cosB, and subsequently cuts at cosN. To terminate packaging of a chromosome, a functional cosB is not required at the terminal cos. To explain this finding, it was proposed earlier that terminase scans for the terminal cosN, rather than any subsequent cosB, during packaging. In the work described here we performed helper packaging experiments to see whether processive action of terminase occurs during sequential packaging of lambda chromosomes. The helper packaging experiments involve trilysogens; strains carrying three prophages in tandem. Infection by a hetero-immune helper phage results in packaging of the repressed prophage chromosomes, since the prophage structure is analogous to the normal DNA substrate. Two chromosomes can be packaged from between the three cos sites of the prophages of a trilysogen. Both chromosomes are packaged even when the central cos is cosB-. Our interpretation of these data is that terminase is brought to the central cos by packaging; following cleavage of the central cos, the terminase remains bound to the distal chromosome; and terminase acts to begin packaging of the distal chromosome. The frequency at which terminase reads across the central cos to initiate packaging of the distal chromosome is in the range from 0.3 to 0.5 in our experiments. Reading across cos was found not to be greatly dependent on the state of cosB, indicating that cosB binding is only needed for packaging the first chromosome in a packaging series. A multilysogen was constructed in which the initial cos was cos+ and the distal cos sites were all cosB-. The initial and downstream chromosomes were found to be packaged. This result indicates that terminase that is brought to the central cos by packaging is not only able to initiate packaging of a downstream chromosome, but can also scan and terminate packaging of the downstream chromosome. A model is presented in which processive action of terminase is the basis for sequential packaging of lambda chromosomes.     

The DNA between Rz and cosR in bacteriophage lambda is nonessential

Near the right end of phage lambda DNA, between gene Rz and the cos site, are 2050 bp of apparently non-coding DNA. We have cloned a lambda DNA fragment containing this DNA into a plasmid and constructed a deletion, omega l, extending from a site within the Rz gene to a site about 560 bp from cos. This deletion could be recombined into viable lambda phage at a frequency equal to that observed for the undeleted sequence. Recombinant phage lambda carrying the omega l deletion were demonstrated to have the same burst size and kinetics of phage production as undeleted lambda. The omega l deletion can be used to extend the capacity of lambda cloning vectors and to provide a region for the insertion of heterologous DNA which should exhibit controllable high level expression from the lambda late promoter, p'R.     

Isolation of specialized lambda transducing bacteriophages for flagellar genes (fla) of Escherichia coli K-12.

Specialized transducing lambda phages carrying the region III flagellar genes (fla) of Escherichia coli K-12 were isolated by a new method. A strain carrying both a cryptic lambda prophage near the his genes and a deletion of the attlambda gene was used as a starting strain. The lysogen of lambdacI857pga18-bio69 was isolated in which the prophage was integrated within the lambda cryptic genes by means of recombination with the residual lambda DNA. The strains with deletions starting within the prophage and ending in these fla genes were selected from among the heat-resistant survivors of the lysogen. They were then infected with heat-inducible and lysis-defective lambda phages and, thus, specialized transducing phage lines for hag and fla were obtained. High-frequency transfer lines of rare phages carrying the fla genes were isolated by inducing a strain carrying a heat-inducible lambda prophage near the his genes and selecting by transduction of a fla deletion strain. Preliminary characterization of these transducing phages is also reported.     

In vitro packaging into phage T4 particles and specific recircularization of phage lambda DNAs

Concatemeric phage lambda imm434 DNA packaged in vitro into phage T4 particles produced plaques on a selective host. Moreover, lambda DNA containing a pBR322 derivative flanked by the lambda attL and attR sites could be specifically recircularized by excisive lambda recombination to yield the pBR322 derivative. A host deficient in generalized recombination and containing a defective lambda c Its prophage which provided Int and Xis proteins was the recipient for this plasmid derivative carried by T4. Such a T4-lambda hybrid may potentially allow almost one T4 headful of donor DNA (166 kb) to be packaged and recircularized.     

λ噬菌体和Cosmid重组DNA克隆的快速限制性内切酶图谱分析方法

cosmld克隆的线性化用λcos末端酶来完成,线性的cosmid或λDNA经部份限制性内切酶酶解后,分别与已标记的cos顺序探针杂交(探针为分别与λ的左端或右端的cos顺序互补的12核苷酸单链片段),杂交后的部份酶解片段经电泳分离和自显影后,酶切点位置可直接在X-底片上读出。在本实验室条件下,可一次完成二个克隆包括5—6种限制性内切酶的图谱分析,分析和作图可通过计算机或手工进行。     

Gene shuttling: moving of cloned DNA into and out of eukaryotic cells.

Successful shuttling of cloned DNA in eukaryotic cells should allow isolation of expressed genes. We tested the utility of cosmids for moving DNA into and out of eukaryotic cells. The unique cleavage of DNA at the cos site by the terminase function of lambda was exploited to maintain the linkage between the vector and inserted gene sequences, a prerequisite for successful rescue of the transforming DNA from high molecular weight DNA of the eukaryotic transformant. A cosmid recombinant containing the HSV thymidine kinase gene and a lambda recombinant containing the chicken thymidine kinase gene were used to test the feasability of this method. It was found that these recombinants can be rescued with high efficiency from DNA of HAT-resistant cells.     

The production of generalized transducing phage by bacteriophage lambda

Generalized tranduction has for about 30 years been a major tool in the genetic manipulation of bacterial chromosomes. However, throughout that time little progress has been made in understanding how generalized transducing particles are produced. The experiments presented in this paper use phage λ to assess some of the factors that affect that process. The results of those experiments indicate: (1) the production of generalized transducing particles by bacteriophage λ is inhibited by the phage λ exonuclease (Exo). Also inhibited by λ Exo is the production of λdocR particles, a class of particles whose packaging is initiated in bacterial DNA and terminated at the normal phage packaging site, cos. In contrast, the production of λdocL particles, a class of particles whose packaging is initiated at cos and terminated in bacterial DNA, is unaffected by λ Exo; (2) λ-generalized transducing particles are not detected in induced lysis-defective (S⁻) λ lysogens until about 60–90 min after prophage induction. Since wild-type λ would normally lyse cells by 60 min, the production of λ-generalized transducing particles depends on the phage being lysis-defective; (3) if transducing lysates are prepared by phage infection then the frequency of generalized transduction for different bacterial markers varies over a 10–20-fold range. In contrast, if transducing lysates are prepared by the induction of a λ lysogen containing an excision-defective prophage, then the variation in transduction frequency is much greater, and markers adjacent to, and on both sides of, the prophage are transduced with much higher frequencies than are other markers ; (4) if the prophage is replication-defective then the increased transduction of prophage-proximal markers is eliminated; (5) measurements of total DNA in induced lysogens indicate that part of the increase in transduction frequency following prophage induction can be accounted for by an increase in the amount of prophage-proximal bacterial DNA in the cell. Measurements of DNA in transducing particles indicate that the rest of the increase is probably due to the preferential packaging of the prophage-proximal bacterial DNA.

These results are most easily interpreted in terms of a model for the initiation of bacterial DNA packaging by λ, in which the proteins involved (Ter) do not recognize any particular sequence in bacterial DNA but rather     

Incorporation of phi80 phage into unusual chromosome sites and isolation of a specialized transducing bacteriophage]

The mutant strain KS713 of Escherichia coli K-12 deleted for the normal insertion site and secondary preferable one was obtained. The insertion frequency of phage phi80 into the double deletion strain is reduced about 30-fold with respect to integration into the strain H47 with deletion of the primary phi80 attachment site and about 500-fold relative to integration into wild type Escherichia coli. Analysis of the rare abnormal lysogens of KS 713 strain indicates that there are secondary sites on the chromosome, which are utilized for prophage attachment if insertion at preferable secondary att80-II site is eliminated too. The insertion of phi80 phage into the bfe locus was obtained by the appropriate selection technique. Induced prophage excision from the bfe site was rather efficient and lysates contained phi80 phage particles that could specificically transduce the argH+ gene. Upon transduction into a recipient strain carrying recA, heterogenotes harbouring both the wild-type and the mutant argH genes were isolated. These heterogenotes were used for producing high-frequency transducing lysates.     

A cos-mini-Mu vector for in vivo DNA cloning

Construction of a mini-Mu plasmid vector containing a cosmid replicon is described. Upon derepression of mini-Mu transposition, bacterial DNA sequences can be flanked by the integrated mini-Mu. These sequences can then be packaged into lambda heads by superinfection with a lambda helper phage. Cosmid clones carrying particular bacterial genes can be recovered by selection after infection of appropriate strains with the cosmid transducing lambda lysate. We report here the successful in vivo cloning of several Escherichia coli genes using the transposoncosmid vector.