DNA shuttling between plasmid vectors and a genome vector: systematic conversion and preservation of DNA libraries using the Bacillus subtilis genome (BGM) vector.

The combined use of the contemporary vector systems, the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) vector and the Bacillus subtilis genome (BGM) vector, makes possible the handling of giant-length DNA (above 100 kb). Our newly constructed BGM vector efficiently integrated DNA prepared in the BAC vector. A BAC library comprised of 18 independent clones prepared from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Arabidopsis thaliana was converted to a parallel BGM library using the new BGM vector. The effectiveness of the combined use of the vector systems was confirmed by the stable recovery of all 18 DNAs as BAC clones from the respective BGM clones. We show that DNA in BGM was stably preserved at room temperature after spore formation of the host B.subtilis. Rapid and stable shuttling between Escherichiacoli and the B. subtilis host, combined with spore-mediated DNA storage, may facilitate the long-term and low-cost preservation and the transportation of DNA resources.