PVv3, a new shuttle vector for gene expression in Vibrio vulnificus.

An efficient electroporation procedure for Vibrio vulnificus was designed using the new cloning vector pVv3 (3,107 bp). Transformation efficiencies up to 2 × 10(6) transformants per μg DNA were achieved. The vector stably replicated in both V. vulnificus and Escherichia coli and was also successfully introduced into Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae. To demonstrate the suitability of the vector for molecular cloning, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene and the vvhBA hemolysin operon were inserted into the vector and functionally expressed in Vibrio and E. coli.