Development of plasmid cloning vectors for Thermus thermophilus HB8: expression of a heterologous, plasmid-borne kanamycin nucleotidyltransferase gene.

While several Thermus genes have been cloned and T. thermophilus has been shown to be transformable, molecular genetic studies of these thermophiles have been hampered by the absence of selectable cloning vectors. We have constructed a selectable plasmid by random insertion of a heterologous gene encoding a thermostable kanamycin nucleotidyltransferase activity into a cryptic, multicopy plasmid from T. thermophilus HB8. This plasmid should serve as a suitable starting point for the development of a gene expression system for T. thermophilus.