Superinfection immunity of mycobacteriophage L5: applications for genetic transformation of mycobacteria
- 1 February 1993
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Molecular Microbiology
- Vol. 7 (3) , 407-417
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01132.x
Abstract
Mycobacteriophage L5 is a temperate phage of the mycobacteria that forms stable lysogens in Mycobacterium smegmatis. We show here that the 183-amino-acid product of L5 gene 71 confers immunity to L5 superinfection, is required for maintenance of the lysogenic state and contains a helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif—properties associated with repressors of temperate phages. We have utilized these observations to demonstrate the use of L5 gene 71 as a selectable marker for genetic transformation of the mycobacteria. Significantly, the use of L5 gene 71 as a selectable gene avoids the requirement for antibiotic-resistance genes providing an important tool for manipulation of the pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium, and for the construction of recombinant BCG vaccines.Keywords
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