Rational design of a plasmid origin that replicates efficiently in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

Abstract

Background: Most plasmids replicate only within a particular genus or family. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we describe an engineered high copy number expression vector, pBAV1K-T5, that produces varying quantities of active reporter proteins in Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, (all Gram-negative), Streptococcus pneumoniae, Leifsonia shinshuensis, Peanibacillus sp. S18-36 and Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive). Conclusions/Significance: Our results demonstrate the efficiency of pBAV1K-T5 replication in different bacterial species, thereby facilitating the study of proteins that don't fold well in E. coli and pathogens not amenable to existing genetic tools. © 2010 Bryksin, Matsumura.