lacZ- and aph-Based Reporter Vectors for In Vivo Expression Technology

Three vectors, pSG1, 2, and 3, which facilitate in vivo expression technology (IVET) in Gram-negative bacteria, were developed. Vectors pSG1and 2 are derivatives of ColE1, and pSG3 is a derivative of an R6K replicon. These vectors contain oriT sites that allow mobilization when the RK2 Tra functions are provided in trans. These vectors contain promoterless lacZ (pl-lacZ) and promoterless aph (pl-aph) transcriptionally fused together, which allow qualitative and quantitative measurements of the expression of genes in the genome of bacterial cells. pSG1 and 3 contain gentamicin-resistance genes, and pSG2 carries a streptomycin-/spectinomycin-resistance gene, allowing for selection of recombinants generated by a single crossover between a library fragment cloned into a pSG vector and the identical region in the genome of a bacterial species from which the library fragment originated. These vectors were successfully applied to the generation of random fusions at high rates in the genomes of four representative Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the expression level of ${\beta}-galactosidase$ and the degree of resistance to kanamycin in cells with fusions generated by these vectors were found to be linearly correlated, proving that these vectors can be used for IVET.