Transduction of a bacterial gene into mammalian cells.

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Abstract
The transduction of an Escherichia coli gene into mammalian cells is described. A supressor tRNA gene was linked to a SV-40 vector in vitro and the recombinant was used to transfect rat embryo cells and [African green] monkey kidney [TC7] cells. The hybrid SV-40 genome, SV-40-su+ III, retained genetic information required for autonomous replication and cellular transformation and had a 1300 base pair DNA segment in the late gene region (between the restriction endonuclease sites Hpa II at 0.735 and EcoRI at 0/1.0 on the SV-40 genetic map) replaced by an 870 basepair bacterial DNA segment containing the suppressor tRNA gene, su+ III (tRNATyr su+ III). The structure and fate of the SV-40 su+ III chimera were determined by DNA reassociation kinetic analysis and restriction enzyme cleavage of the total cellular DNA from transformed rat embryo cells and persistently infected monkey cells. Hybridization with radiolabeled probes specific for vector (SV-40) or su+ III DNA sequences revealed primarily nonintegrated or free hybrid genomes. In cloned lines of both cell types, the bacterial DNA segment was recovered intact, as judged by the length of the segment excised by restriction endonucleases and its ability to hybridize to the radiolabeled bacterial DNA probe and not to the SV-40 probe.