Chromosomal editing in Escherichia coli. Vectors for DNA integration and excision

Chromosomal editing constitutes the direct and specific modification of the genetic information present in the chromosome. In the bacterium Escherichia coli, strategies were originally developed for the production of specific proteins, the genotypic improvement of strains, and the analysis of regulation of gene expression. However, with the emerging field of metabolic engineering and genomics, efficient means of targeting specific genetic mutations into the chromosome are most useful. In this review, a summary of the systems currently available to generate insertions and deletions in the chromosome of E. coli are presented, as well as the current knowledge about the genetic mechanisms responsible for these processes.