Scaling down: a PCR-based method to efficiently screen for desired knockouts in a high density Mycobacterium tuberculosis picked mutant library.

Transposon mutagenesis produces random mycobacterial mutants at high frequency. Because they are random, however, it is difficult to isolate mutations in particular target genes. Here we describe the use of an arrayed library of Mycobacterium tuberculosis together with a PCR screening strategy to rapidly identify strains with defined insertion mutations. This method is useful for many genetic applications.