Transposon-facilitated recombination in classical biotypes of Vibrio cholerae

Abstract

Transposon-facilitated recombination (Tfr) donors of classical Vibrio cholerae strain 162 were constructed by introducing the ampicillin transposon Tn1 into the P conjugative plasmid and the bacterial chromosome. The improved donors mediated high-frequency, polarized transfer of chromosomal genes from origins to confirm the gene orders of the previous classical strain 162 genetic map and to establish its circularity. Significant transfer of linked genes from E1 Tor Tfr donors to classical recipients was demonstrated, and other evidence for genetic relatedness of these two V. cholerae biotypes is discussed.