Publications

Targeted chromosomal knockouts in Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Krishnakumar R, Assad-Garcia N, Benders GA, Phan Q, Montague MG, Glass JI

PMID: 20543037

Abstract

Most gene knockouts in mycoplasmas are achieved through labor-intensive transposon mutagenesis. Here, we describe a method for making targeted deletions in Mycoplasma pneumoniae by use of homologous recombination. In this method, M. pneumoniae is transformed with a plasmid carrying an antibiotic resistance marker flanked by 1-kb regions surrounding the target gene. Following selection for the antibiotic resistance, colonies are screened for double crossovers which indicate complete deletion of the target open reading frame.