The pyrE Gene as a Bidirectional Selection Marker in Bifidobacterium Longum 105-A

We constructed a deletion mutant of the pyrE gene in Bifidobacterium longum 105-A. A pyrE knockout cassette was cloned into pKKT427, a Bifidobacterium-Escherichia coli shuttle vector, and then introduced into B. longum 105-A by electroporation. The transformants were propagated and spread onto MRS plates containing 5-fluoroorotic acid (5-FOA) and uracil. 5-FOA-resistant mutants were obtained at a frequency of 4.7 × 10(−5) integrations per cell. To perform pyrE gene complementation, the pyrE gene was amplified by PCR and used to construct a complementation plasmid (pKKT427-pyrE(+)). B. longum 105-A ∆pyrE harboring this plasmid could not grow on MRS plates containing 5-FOA, uracil and spectinomycin. We also developed a chemically defined medium (bifidobacterial minimal medium; BMM) containing inorganic salts, glucose, vitamins, isoleucine and tyrosine for positive selection of pyrE transformants. B. longum 105-A ∆pyrE could not grow on BMM agar, but the same strain harboring pKKT427-pyrE(+) could. Thus, pyrE can be used as a counterselection marker in B. longum 105-A and potentially other Bifidobacterium species as well. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this system by constructing a knockout mutant of the xynF gene in B. longum 105-A by using the pyrE gene as a counterselection marker. This pyrE-based selection system will contribute to genetic studies of bifidobacteria.