Transposition of TnA does not generate deletions.

We have examined the incidence of loss of the TnA unit, Tn801, from RP1 under conditions where transposition of Tn801 to another replicon. R388, was readily detected. We found that the frequency of transposition of Tn801 from RP1 to R388 exceeded, by at least a factor of one hundred, the frequency at which it was deleted from RP1. We conclude that, in general, transposition of Tn801 does not generate derivatives of the donor plasmid which specifically lack Tn801. The relevance of these findings to the mechanism of transposition is discussed.