Engineering more stable, selectable marker-free autoluminescent mycobacteria by one step.

ABSTRACT: In our previous study, we demonstrated that the use of the autoluminescent Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a reporter strain had the potential to drastically reduce the time, effort, animals and costs consumed in evaluation of the activities of drugs and vaccines in live mice. However, the strains were relatively unstable and lost reporter with time without selection. The kanamycin selection marker used wasn't the best choice as it provides resistance to amino glycosides which are an important class of second line drugs used in tuberculosis treatment. In addition, the marker could limit utility of the strains for screening of new potential drugs or evaluating drug combinations for tuberculosis treatment. Limited selection marker genes for mycobacterial genetic manipulation is a major drawbac

SUBMITTER: Yang F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4356594 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature