Transformation of Mycoplasma pulmonis: demonstration of homologous recombination, introduction of cloned genes, and preliminary description of an integrating shuttle system.

The transposons Tn916 and Tn4001 and a series of integrating plasmids derived from their antibiotic resistance genes were used to examine polyethylene glycol-mediated transformation of Mycoplasma pulmonis. Under optimal conditions, Tn916 and Tn4001 could be introduced into M. pulmonis at frequencies of 1 x 10(-6) and 5 x 10(-5) per CFU, respectively. Integrating plasmids were constructed with the cloned antibiotic resistance determinants of Tn916 and Tn4001, a pMB1-derived plasmid replicon, and mycoplasmal chromosomal DNA and were used to examine recombinational events after transformation into M. pulmonis. Under optimal conditions, chromosomal integrations could be recovered at a frequency of 1 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-6) per CFU, depending on the size and nature of the chromosomal insert and the parental plasmid. Integrated plasmids were stable in the absence of selection and could be rescued in Escherichia coli along with adjacent mycoplasma DNA. These studies provide the first direct evidence of a recombination system in the Mollicutes and describe the first E. coli-M. pulmonis shuttle vectors.