AUTHOR=Conte Emanuele , Mende Linda , Grainge Ian , Colloms Sean D. 

TITLE=A Mini-ISY100 Transposon Delivery System Effective in γ Proteobacteria

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00280

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.00280

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Transposons are invaluable biological tools for the genetic manipulation of microorganisms. ISY100 from <italic>Synechocystis</italic> sp. PCC6803 is a member of the Tc1/<italic>mariner</italic>/IS<italic>630</italic> superfamily, and is characterized by high transposition efficiency and a strong preference for TA target sequences. In this paper, we describe the design and application of a mini-ISY100 suicide vector for the <italic>in vivo</italic> creation of stable random transposon insertion libraries. The system was successfully applied in seven species belonging to four different orders of γ proteobacteria. In all cases, delivery using conjugation consistently showed the highest transposition efficiency compared to chemical transformation or electroporation. We determined the frequency of transposon insertions in all the species and proved the utility of the system by identifying genes involved in colony coloration in <italic>Shewanella oneidensis</italic>. The ease and the efficiency of the protocol developed here allow the creation of complete knock-out libraries in an extensive range of host microorganisms in less than a week with no requirement for preparatory modification.</p>