[Integration and intramolecular transposition of the TnBP3 Bordetella pertussis transposon in the Escherichia coli K-12 cells -- mutant for the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system Hpr protein ].

Integration of a plasmid carrying the TnBP3 transposon of Bordetella pertussis into the chromosome of Escherichia coli and transpositions of the integrated structure within a chromosome in the wild-type and mutant cells ptsH devoid of the major Hpr protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system were studied. When transposed to a new chromosome site, the integrated structure was precisely (or almost precisely) excised from the metY gene sequence, which resulted in restoration of the Met+ phenotype. The integration and transposition events were only observed in the E. coli cells carrying the ptsH+ allele. The ptsH mutations inhibited integration and intramolecular transposition, which were restored after phenotypic or genetic suppression of the ptsH mutation. The intensity of the processes studied were suggested to depend on the integrity of a chain that ensures transferring of the phosphoryl residue by proteins of the phosphotransferase system in E. coli K12. The results obtained indicate that the ptsH mutants of E. coli can serve as the optimal host for cloning of fragments carrying repeated sequences of B. pertussis, which may apply to the repeated sequences of other microorganisms.