Establishment of gene transfer systems for and construction of the genetic map of a marine Vibrio strain.

Two gene transfer systems were established for a marine bacterium, Vibrio sp. strain 60. One was generalized transduction with a newly isolated bacteriophage, As3, and the other was conjugal gene transfer by the use of newly constructed transposon-facilitated recombination (Tfr) donors. As3 transduced various chromosomal markers at frequencies of 10(-4) to 10(-6). Tfr donors, which were constructed by introducing transposon Tn10 into both plasmid RP4 and the chromosome, mediated the polarized transfer of chromosomal genes from the sites of Tn10 insertion on the chromosome. By means of these gene transfer systems, a genetic map of the vibrio chromosome was constructed.