|
|
||||||||


Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
Correspondence
Jaume Piñol
jaume.pinyol{at}uab.es
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
These authors contributed equally to this work.
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The genetic manipulation of mycoplasmas is hindered by the limited number of genetic tools available. The use of replicative plasmids in mycoplasmas is restricted to Mycoplasma pulmonis (Cordova et al., 2002
), Mycoplasma capricolum (Lartigue et al., 2003
) and Mycoplasma mycoides (Bergemann et al., 1989
; King & Dybvig, 1992
). Transposons have become commonplace in mycoplasma genetics. However, there are several mycoplasmas that remain refractory to transformation by transposons. Transposons available for mycoplamas are Tn4001 and Tn916, which were originally isolated from the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (Lyon et al., 1984
) and Enterococcus faecalis (Franke & Clewell, 1981
), respectively. The usefulness of Tn4001 (4·7 kb) was first demonstrated in Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Hedreyda et al., 1993
) and was then successfully tested in other Mycoplasma species including Mycoplasma gallisepticum (Cao et al., 1994
) and Mycoplasma genitalium (Reddy et al., 1996
). In contrast to Tn916 (18 kb), Tn4001 is small enough to be used as a routine cloning vector. However, one of the problems with the use of native transposons is their instability and dynamism once transposed, which makes clear interpretation of the results difficult. This problem was solved by the construction of a minitransposon based on Tn4001, which places the tnp gene outside the inverted repeats (Pour-El et al., 2002
).
The tetM and the aac(6')-aph(2'') genes from Tn916 and Tn4001, respectively, have been used as selectable markers in different Mycoplasma species (Dybvig & Voelker, 1996
). The tetM gene confers tetracycline (Tc) resistance upon all tested Mycoplasma species. However, in studies focused on M. genitalium, the aac(6')-aph(2'') gene is the only selectable marker used for transformation (Dhandayuthapani et al., 1999
, 2001
). The aac(6')-aph(2'') gene confers resistance to the aminoglycosides gentamicin (Gm), kanamycin and tobramycin. AAC(6')-APH(2'') is a unique bifunctional enzyme with two different domains: the N-terminal domain has acetyl-CoA-dependent aminoglycoside acetyltransferase activity, whereas the C-terminal domain exhibits aminoglycoside kinase activity (Culebras & Martinez, 1999
). It has been suggested that AAC(6')-APH(2'') can also phosphorylate several eukaryotic and prokaryotic protein kinase substrates, modifying in this way signal transduction or regulatory pathways (Daigle et al., 1999
).
M. genitalium has been proposed as a suitable model to achieve an in-depth understanding of the biology of a free-living organism (Roberts, 2004
). Fulfilling this goal depends on the development of new genetic tools and, in particular, on the identification of new selectable markers for M. genitalium genetic studies. In this work we describe the construction of a modified tetM gene (tetM438) that can be used in M. genitalium. Comparison between the tetM438 and aac(6')-aph(2'') genes clearly shows a negative effect of aac(6')-aph(2'') on the growth of M. genitalium. Moreover, the use of tetM438 increases dramatically the number of transformants obtained and reduces considerably the time needed for colonies to become visible. Using tetM438 in conjunction with a minitransposon derived from Tn4001 (MTn4001), we have been able to obtain insertions in genes which were previously considered to be necessary for M. genitalium growth in laboratory conditions (Hutchison et al., 1999
).
| METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
|
Transformation of M. genitalium.
This was performed as described by Reddy et al. (1996)
, with a few modifications. Briefly, M. genitalium strain G37 was grown to mid-exponential phase in 75 cm2 tissue culture flasks. Attached mycoplasmas were scraped off and passed through a 0·45 µm low protein binding filter (Millipore). The filtered cells were then recultured for 24 h in 40 ml SP-4 medium in 150 cm2 tissue culture flasks. Attached mycoplasmas were washed three times with electroporation buffer (8 mM HEPES pH 7·2, 272 mM sucrose), scraped off and resuspended in this buffer at a concentration of approximately 109 cells ml1. Then 90 µl mycoplasma cell suspension was mixed with 5 µg plasmid DNA previously dissolved in 20 µl electroporation buffer. The mixture was transferred to a 2 mm gapped electroporation Plus BTX cuvette, kept on ice for 15 min and then electroporated (2·5 kV, 129
) using an electro cell manipulator 600 (BTX). After 15 min on ice, 900 µl SP-4 was added and the cells were incubated at 37 °C for 2 h. Aliquots of 200 µl were spread onto Gm- or Tc-supplemented SP-4 agar plates. Isolated colonies were picked, propagated in 5 ml cultures and stored at 80 °C. Several 20 µl drops from serial dilutions of the electroporated cells were spotted on SP-4 agar plates to determine the number of viable cells. The same procedure was used to determine the number of transformant cells, except that SP-4 agar plates were supplemented with Gm or Tc. Colonies from eight spots on each of two different plates were counted to determine the number of viable or transformant cells.
DNA manipulations.
General DNA manipulations were performed according to Sambrook & Russell (2001)
. Plasmid DNA was obtained by using the Fast Plasmid Mini Eppendorf Kit. All PCR products were previously cloned into EcoRV-digested pBE and then excised with the corresponding restriction enzyme (Roche). PCR products and digested fragments were purified from agarose gels using the EZNA gel extraction Kit (Omega Bio-tek).
Plasmid pBSKII+ was used for the construction of pMTn4001. First, the tnp gene was amplified from pIVT-1 by PCR using primers tnp5' and tnp3', which include BsiWI and SpeI restriction sites at the 5' and 3' ends of the PCR product, respectively. Then, the 1·3 kb PCR product was digested with BsiWI/SpeI and included in a ligation mixture containing Acc65I/ApaI-digested pBSKII+ and 50 pmol of both IRO-1 and IRO-2 oligonucleotides. In this way, the annealed oligonucleotides recreate an outer inverted repeat adapter. The construction obtained (pRP1) was digested with NotI and SacI and included in a ligation mixture containing 50 pmol of both IRI-1 and IRI-2 oligonucleotides to reconstitute an inner inverted repeat adapter. One clone with the expected restriction pattern was sequenced to confirm that no mutations were introduced by these procedures. Most of the initial restriction sites of the pBSKII+ multicloning site (from ApaI to NotI) remain in pMTn4001.
The aac(6')-aph(2'') gene was amplified by PCR from pIVT-1 by using aac-aph-5'3' as a single primer. The resulting 2·5 kb fragment was digested with BamHI, purified and ligated into BamHI-digested pMTn4001, creating plasmid pMTnGm. For the construction of pMTnORFTet, the tetM coding region was PCR amplified from pAM120 by using primers ORFTc-5' and ORFTc-3', which include BamHI sites at the ends. The 2 kb PCR product was cloned into BamHI-digested pMTn4001. Finally, to construct pMTnTetM438 the tetM coding region was amplified from pAM120 using primers TAGAATet-5' and ORFTc-3'. The TAGAATet-5' oligonucleotide creates a fusion of the tetM coding region and the 22 bp region located upstream of the mg438 translational start codon. The 2 kb PCR product was cloned into EcoRI/BamHI-digested pMTn4001 to obtain plasmid pMTnTetM438.
Assay to compare the growth of MTnGm and MTnTetM438 transformants.
To monitor and compare the growth of MTnGm- and MTnTetM438-transformed cells, we quantified both colony number and size at different days after electroporation. Because colony size is strongly reduced when plates are crowded, a low number of MTnGm- and MTnTetM438-transformed cells (100500 c.f.u. per plate) was spread to make colony size measurements comparable. Thus, while cells electroporated in the presence of pMTnGm were spread undiluted onto several Gm-supplemented SP-4 agar plates, a 102 dilution of the cells electroporated in the presence of pMTnTetM438 was spread onto Tc-supplemented SP-4 agar plates. To reduce inter-experiment variability, electroporation of either minitransposon derivative was performed sequentially by using aliquots of the same batch of cells and the same medium stock. Additionally, duplicate electroporations were performed to reduce intra-experimental variability. As Tc is readily inactivated in the presence of light, plates were not returned to the incubator once examined. Thus, the same transformation was spread on different plates and a single plate from each transformation experiment was removed from the incubator for examination at 10, 12, 14 and 16 days after electroporation. Several pictures were taken of each plate by using a LeicaMZFLIII microscope and a LeicaDC500 camera. The diameter of 100 colonies was measured by using the Scion Image processing and analysis program to obtain the colony diameter average (CDA).
Assay to determine the effect of Gm or Tc on the colony size of MTnGm or MTnTetM438 transformants.
M. genitalium cells were electroporated in the presence of pMTnGm or pMTnTetM438 and the resultant transformants were grown in liquid medium supplemented with Gm or Tc respectively. Then, transformants were scraped off, passed through a 0·22 µm filter and plated on SP-4 agar with or without antibiotic. The CDA of each sample was obtained after 14 days of incubation. Wild-type cells were also plated to obtain a reference CDA.
Southern blots.
Eight MTnTetM438 transformants were selected and cultured in 20 ml Tc-supplemented SP-4 medium. Cells were then scraped off and genomic DNA was isolated by using the EZNA Bacterial DNA Kit (Omega Bio-tek). Genomic DNAs were digested with HindIII and probed by Southern blot hybridization by using the Dig DNA Labelling and Detection Kit (Roche). A 2 kb BamHI fragment from pMTnORFTet containing the tetM coding region was used as a probe.
RNA manipulation.
Total RNA was isolated from 20 ml cultures using TRI Reagent (Invitrogen), following the recommendations of the manufacturer. For RT-PCR assay, total RNAs were retrotranscribed by using random hexamers and the SuperScript First-Strand Synthesis system (Invitrogen). PCRs were then performed by using the primers listed in Table 2
.
Primer extension of mg438 was performed by annealing 2 pmol 5'-Cy5-labelled MG438PE primer with 5 µg total RNA. First-strand synthesis was carried out as described above. Eight microlitres of the preceding reaction were analysed in an ALF DNA sequencer (Pharmacia Biotech). The product of the standard sequencing reactions, using the same 5'-Cy5-labelled primer and pENT438 plasmid as DNA template, was included in the same sequencing gel.
Genomic DNA sequencing.
Genomic DNA from 30 independent MTnTetM438 transformants was isolated as described above. Sequencing with fluorescent dideoxynucleotides was performed by using the Big Dye 3.0 Terminator Kit (Applied Biosystems) and Tc upstream and Tc downstream primers, following the recommendations of the manufacturer, and analysed in an ABI 3100 Genetic Analyser (Applied Biosystems).
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Random insertion and stability of MTnTetM438 in the M. genitalium chromosome
Genomic DNA isolated from eight independent clones selected from the MTnTetM438 transformants obtained was analysed by Southern blotting (data not shown). As expected, the presence of a single band of different size in each clone showed that MTnTetM438 is randomly inserted in the M. genitalium genome. Since no additional band was detected, we conclude that MTnTetM438 inserts as a single copy and remains stable once transposed.
We also addressed the question of whether insertions in genomic locations not previously described when using aac(6')-aph(2'') could be obtained with pMTnTetM438. We determined the transposon insertion site of 30 randomly selected MTnTetM438 transformants (Table 5
). We found 28 different transposon insertion sites and two transposon insertions in the same location of the mg269 and mg281 coding regions. Four transposon insertions located in the intergenic regions were in sequences belonging to a family of repetitive DNA elements known as MgPa islands (Peterson et al., 1995
). Surprisingly, transposon insertions were detected in two coding regions, mg298 and mg358, in which no transposon insertions were previously reported in the global transposon mutagenesis analysis (Hutchison et al., 1999
). Moreover, both transposon insertions are expected to disrupt the gene function (Fig. 5
a, b). The mg298 gene encodes P115, a protein with unknown function, and the mg358 gene is currently annotated as ruvA, which is involved in the resolution of Holliday intermediates. The ruvA gene has been previously shown to be dispensable in E. coli (Sharples et al., 1990
). No transcriptional defects derived from the transposon insertions were detected by RT-PCR in the downstream genes mg297 and mg359 (Fig. 5c
), which have also been considered as essential. However, disruptive insertions in the mg298 and mg358 coding regions show that M. genitalium genes which have not been previously considered as dispensable under laboratory growth conditions could be knocked out by our pMTnTetM438 construction; thus the list of non-essential M. genitalium genes could be longer than previously described.
|
|
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Boehr, D. D., Daigle, D. M. & Wright, G. D. (2004). Domain-domain interactions in the aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance enzyme AAC(6')-APH(2''). Biochemistry 43, 98469855.[CrossRef][Medline]
Byrne, M. E., Rouch, D. A. & Skurray, R. A. (1989). Nucleotide sequence analysis of IS256 from the Staphylococcus aureus gentamicin-tobramycin-kanamycin-resistance transposon Tn4001. Gene 81, 361367.[CrossRef][Medline]
Cao, J., Kapke, P. A. & Minion, F. C. (1994). Transformation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum with Tn916, Tn4001, and integrative plasmid vectors. J Bacteriol 176, 44594462.
Cordova, C. M., Lartigue, C., Sirand-Pugnet, P., Renaudin, J., Cunha, R. A. & Blanchard, A. (2002). Identification of the origin of replication of the Mycoplasma pulmonis chromosome and its use in oriC replicative plasmids. J Bacteriol 184, 54265435.
Culebras, E. & Martinez, J. L. (1999). Aminoglycoside resistance mediated by the bifunctional enzyme 6'-N-aminoglycoside acetyltransferase-2''-O-aminoglycoside phosphotransferase. Front Biosci 4, D1D8.[Medline]
Daigle, D. M., McKay, G. A., Thompson, P. R. & Wright, G. D. (1999). Aminoglycoside antibiotic phosphotransferases are also serine protein kinases. Chem Biol 6, 1118.[CrossRef][Medline]
Dhandayuthapani, S., Rasmussen, W. G. & Baseman, J. B. (1999). Disruption of gene mg218 of Mycoplasma genitalium through homologous recombination leads to an adherence-deficient phenotype. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96, 52275232.
Dhandayuthapani, S., Blaylock, M. W., Bebear, C. M., Rasmussen, W. G. & Baseman, J. B. (2001). Peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase (MsrA) is a virulence determinant in Mycoplasma genitalium. J Bacteriol 183, 56455650.
Dirksen, L. B., Krebes, K. A. & Krause, D. C. (1994). Phosphorylation of cytadherence-accessory proteins in Mycoplasma pneumoniae. J Bacteriol 176, 74997505.
Dybvig, K. & Voelker, L. L. (1996). Molecular biology of mycoplasmas. Annu Rev Microbiol 50, 2557.[CrossRef][Medline]
Dybvig, K., French, C. T. & Voelker, L. L. (2000). Construction and use of derivatives of transposon Tn4001 that function in Mycoplasma pulmonis and Mycoplasma arthritidis. J Bacteriol 182, 43434347.
Franke, A. E. & Clewell, D. B. (1981). Evidence for a chromosome-borne resistance transposon (Tn916) in Streptococcus faecalis that is capable of "conjugal" transfer in the absence of a conjugative plasmid. J Bacteriol 145, 494502.
Fraser, C. M., Gocayne, J. D., White, O. & 26 other authors (1995). The minimal gene complement of Mycoplasma genitalium. Science 270, 397403.
Gawron-Burke, C. & Clewell, D. B. (1984). Regeneration of insertionally inactivated streptococcal DNA fragments after excision of transposon Tn916 in Escherichia coli: strategy for targeting and cloning of genes from gram-positive bacteria. J Bacteriol 159, 214221.
Hedreyda, C. T., Lee, K. K. & Krause, D. C. (1993). Transformation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae with Tn4001 by electroporation. Plasmid 30, 170175.[CrossRef][Medline]
Hutchison, C. A., Peterson, S. N., Gill, S. R., Cline, R. T., White, O., Fraser, C. M., Smith, H. O. & Venter, J. C. (1999). Global transposon mutagenesis and a minimal Mycoplasma genome. Science 286, 21652169.
King, K. W. & Dybvig, K. (1992). Nucleotide sequence of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides plasmid pKMK1. Plasmid 28, 8691.[CrossRef][Medline]
Lartigue, C., Blanchard, A., Renaudin, J., Thiaucourt, F. & Sirand-Pugnet, P. (2003). Host specificity of mollicutes oriC plasmids: functional analysis of replication origin. Nucleic Acids Res 31, 66106618.
Lyon, B. R., May, J. W. & Skurray, R. A. (1984). Tn4001: a gentamicin and kanamycin resistance transposon in Staphylococcus aureus. Mol Gen Genet 193, 554556.[CrossRef][Medline]
Musatovova, O., Dhandayuthapani, S. & Baseman, J. B. (2003). Transcriptional starts for cytadherence-related operons of Mycoplasma genitalium. FEMS Microbiol Lett 229, 7381.[CrossRef][Medline]
Peterson, S. N., Bailey, C. C., Jensen, J. S., Borre, M. B., King, E. S., Bott, K. F. & Hutchison, C. A., 3rd (1995). Characterization of repetitive DNA in the Mycoplasma genitalium genome: possible role in the generation of antigenic variation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 92, 1182911833.
Platt, M. W., Rottem, S., Milner, Y., Barile, M. F., Peterkofsky, A. & Reizer, J. (1988). Protein phosphorylation in Mycoplasma gallisepticum. Eur J Biochem 176, 6167.[Medline]
Pollack, J. D., Williams, M. V. & McElhaney, R. N. (1997). The comparative metabolism of the mollicutes (mycoplasmas): the utility for taxonomic classification and the relationship of putative gene annotation and phylogeny to enzymatic function in the smallest free-living cells. Crit Rev Microbiol 23, 269354.[Medline]
Pour-El, I., Adams, C. & Minion, F. C. (2002). Construction of mini-Tn4001tet and its use in Mycoplasma gallisepticum. Plasmid 47, 129137.[CrossRef][Medline]
Reddy, S. P., Rasmussen, W. G. & Baseman, J. B. (1996). Isolation and characterization of transposon Tn4001-generated, cytadherence-deficient transformants of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol 15, 199211.[CrossRef][Medline]
Roberts, R. J. (2004). Identifying protein function a call for community action. PLoS Biol 2, E42.[CrossRef][Medline]
Sabelnikov, A. G., Greenberg, B. & Lacks, S. A. (1995). An extended 10 promoter alone directs transcription of the DpnII operon of Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Mol Biol 250, 144155.[CrossRef][Medline]
Sambrook, J. & Russell, D. W. (2001). Molecular Cloning: a Laboratory Manual, 3rd edn. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sharples, G. J., Benson, F. E., Illing, G. T. & Lloyd, R. G. (1990). Molecular and functional analysis of the ruv region of Escherichia coli K-12 reveals three genes involved in DNA repair and recombination. Mol Gen Genet 221, 219226.[Medline]
Tully, J. G., Rose, D. L., Whitcomb, R. F. & Wenzel, R. P. (1979). Enhanced isolation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from throat washings with a newly-modified culture medium. J Infect Dis 139, 478482.[Medline]
Weiner, J., 3rd, Herrmann, R. & Browning, G. F. (2000). Transcription in Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Nucleic Acids Res 28, 44884496.
Received 22 June 2005;
revised 6 October 2005;
accepted 2 November 2005.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
O. Q. Pich, R. Burgos, M. Ferrer-Navarro, E. Querol, and J. Pinol Role of Mycoplasma genitalium MG218 and MG317 cytoskeletal proteins in terminal organelle organization, gliding motility and cytadherence Microbiology, October 1, 2008; 154(10): 3188 - 3198. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Burgos, O. Q. Pich, E. Querol, and J. Pinol Functional Analysis of the Mycoplasma genitalium MG312 Protein Reveals a Specific Requirement of the MG312 N-Terminal Domain for Gliding Motility J. Bacteriol., October 1, 2007; 189(19): 7014 - 7023. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Lluch-Senar, M. Vallmitjana, E. Querol, and J. Pinol A new promoterless reporter vector reveals antisense transcription in Mycoplasma genitalium Microbiology, August 1, 2007; 153(8): 2743 - 2752. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Burgos, O. Q. Pich, M. Ferrer-Navarro, J. B. Baseman, E. Querol, and J. Pinol Mycoplasma genitalium P140 and P110 Cytadhesins Are Reciprocally Stabilized and Required for Cell Adhesion and Terminal-Organelle Development J. Bacteriol., December 15, 2006; 188(24): 8627 - 8637. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL | MICROBIOLOGY | J GEN VIROL |
| J MED MICROBIOL | ALL SGM JOURNALS | |