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Genetic Analysis of Cyanobacteria

  • Chapter
The Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis ((AIPH,volume 1))

Summary

In recent years great strides have been made in developing genetic systems for the analysis of various aspects of cyanobacterial physiology and development. Transformation, electroporation and conjugation systems provide effective means for gene transfer in diverse cyanobacterial strains. Gene transfer, combined with the ability to clone and inactivate genes in cyanobacteria, has opened the door to advanced studies of photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, heterocyst development and metabolism in these unique and important procaryotic microorganisms.

This chapter reviews the advances of the last few years in the development and use of genetic systems in cyanobacteria. These include the gene transfer techniques of conjugation, transformation and electroporation as well as mutagenesis by conventional and recombinant DNA-based techniques. Reporter systems, particularly lacZ and luxAB, are used to measure gene expression and to identify novel genes that are expressed under specific physiological conditions. Transposons that have a reporter gene can simultaneously inactivate a gene and report expression of the interrupted gene. Such transposons provide a powerful tool for the identification of environmentally regulated genes. The technique of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, combined with Southern hybridization analysis using cloned cyanobacterial genes and transposon-tagged genes as probes, has allowed the construction of the first detailed maps of cyanobacterial chromosomes.

The development of these genetic techniques has stimulated interest in cyanobacteria as hosts for the expression of foreign genes. A variety of host-vector systems combined with the ability to clone genes under the control of regulatable promoters, provide the tools required for expression of potentially beneficial genes in cyanobacteria. Because cyanobacteria grow in disparate habitats they may provide an ideal system for the expression and dissemination of environmentally useful gene products.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Missouri — St. Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA

    Teresa Thiel

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Donald A. Bryant

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Thiel, T. (1994). Genetic Analysis of Cyanobacteria. In: Bryant, D.A. (eds) The Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria. Advances in Photosynthesis, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0227-8_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0227-8_19

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