Plasmid vectors for positive galactose-resistance selection of cloned DNA in Escherichia coli

Insertion of a HindIII-EcoRI fragment carrying part of the gal operon from lambda gal+ into pBR322 yields a plasmid (pAA3) which confers strong galactose sensitivity on E. coli strains deleted for the gal operon. Sensitivity to galactose is caused by the expression of kinase and transferase (but not epimerase) genes from a promoter located in the tet gene of pBR322. Insertion of a DNA fragment carrying Tn9 at the HindIII junction blocks gal expression and produces a galactose-resistant phenotype. Hence, galactose resistance can be used to select DNA fragments cloned at the HindIII site. The system was used efficiently for cloning lambda, yeast, and human DNA. The cloned fragments can be screened directly for the presence of promoters by testing for tetracycline resistance. Alternatively, these plasmids can be used as cosmids for cloning large fragments of DNA at a number of sites. Construction of several related vectors is described.     

Plasmid vector for cloning in Streptococcus pneumoniae and strategies for enrichment for recombinant plasmids

A new plasmid, pLS101, was constructed for use as a vector for cloning in Streptococcus pneumoniae. This plasmid carries two selectable genes, tet and malM, each of which contains two or more restriction sites for cloning. Insertional inactivation of the malM gene allowed direct selection of TcRMal- clones containing recombinant plasmids. Other means of enriching a recipient population for cells containing recombinant plasmids were examined. The effect of removing vector terminal phosphate in attempts to clone heterogeneous DNA fragments, such as those from chromosomal DNA, was to abolish recombinant plasmid establishment altogether, presumably because donor DNA processing during entry into the cell prevented establishment of the hemiligated molecule. However, with homogeneous DNA fragments, such as those from plasmid or viral DNA, vector phosphate removal allowed enrichment for recombinant plasmids. In the cloning of heterogeneous DNA that was homologous to the recipient chromosome (i.e. chromosomal DNA from S. pneumoniae), recovery of recombinant plasmids could be enriched tenfold (relative to the regenerated vector) by the process of chromosomal facilitation of plasmid establishment. This involved an additional passage of the mixed plasmids in which interaction with the chromosome of plasmids containing chromosomal DNA inserts (i.e. recombinant plasmids) increased their frequency of establishment relative to the vector plasmid. An overall strategy for cloning in S. pneumoniae, depending on the nature of the fragment to be cloned, is proposed.     

The effect of nalidixic acid on expression from related E. coli promoters

The effect of the DNA gyrase inhibitor, nalidixic acid, on expression from E. coli promoters was studied using the pKO-1, galactokinase expression vector system. Expression from a series of related hybrid promoters, tet promoter variants and the trp promoter flanked by oligonucleotide blocks was measured after incubation with nalidixic acid. Expression from the pBR322 tet promoter and tet promoter mutants within the -10 region was reduced after the drug treatment. The lacUV5, trp, and tettrp promoters were essentially unaffected while the trplac and the trptet promoters were stimulated. Studies of the trp promoter flanked by upstream or downstream oligonucleotide blocks revealed similar responses to the trp promoter parent control plasmids.