Open AccessThe presence of conjugative transposon Tn916 in the recipient strain does not impede transfer of a second copy of the element
Author(s) -
Mari Norgren,
June R. Scott
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.173.1.319-324.1991
Subject(s) - transposable element , biology , transposition (logic) , genetics , bacillus subtilis , homologous recombination , homologous chromosome , insertion , homology (biology) , dna transposable elements , dna , chromosome , mutation , bacteria , mutant , gene , linguistics , philosophy
Transfer of the conjugative transposon Tn916 from the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis to a transposon-free Streptococcus pyogenes strain occurs at the same frequency as transfer to a Tn916-containing recipient. This rules out a model for conjugal transfer of Tn916 in which a copy of the element in the recipient represses transposition of a copy introduced by conjugation. Homology-directed integration of the incoming transposon into the resident one is less frequent than insertion elsewhere in the chromosome. This shows that after conjugation, transposition occurs more frequently than homologous recombination. However, because transconjugants arising from homologous recombination can be selected, it is possible to use Tn916 as a shuttle for gram-positive organisms for which there is no easy means of introducing DNA.