CHI MUTATION IN A TRANSPOSON AND THE ORIENTATION-DEPENDENCE OF CHI PHENOTYPE

Chi, an element that stimulates recombination via the E. coli RecBC pathway, can arise by spontaneous mutation in the transposon Tn5. When in phage λ in one orientation, the mutant transposon confers Chi+ phenotype (large plaque and a high rate of exchange near the transposon). In the other orientation, however, the transposon does not confer Chi+ phenotype. The mobility of the transposon allows us to show that the Chi+ orientation of the mutant Tn5 is the same at different locations in λ. These include a site near gene J, one in gam at 69, one to the right of gam at 73 and several to the right of R between 95.7 and 99.5. To the right of R, the mutant transposon could be found in only one orientation, that which confers Chi+ phenotype. We speculate that the other orientation of Tn5 in that locale is lethal to λ. The orientation-dependence of Chi+ phenotype also revealed that Tn5 flip-flops in λ.