Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Generating Transposon Insertion Libraries in Gram-Negative Bacteria for High-Throughput Sequencing
Published on: July 7, 2020
A mariner-based transposon system for in vivo random mutagenesis of Clostridium difficile
Stephen T Cartman1, Nigel P Minton
1Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, School of Molecular Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, NIHR Biomedical Research Unit, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG72RD, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Understanding the molecular basis of Clostridium difficile infection is a prerequisite to the development of effective countermeasures. Although there are methods for constructing gene-specific mutants of C. difficile, currently there is no effective method for generating libraries of random mutants. In this study, we developed a novel mariner-based transposon system for in vivo random mutagenesis of C. difficile R20291, the BI/NAP1/027 epidemic strain at the center of the C. difficile outbreaks in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, in 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005. Transposition occurred at a frequency of 4.5 (+/-0.4) x 10(-4) per cell to give stable insertions at random genomic loci, which were defined only by the nucleotide sequence TA. Furthermore, mutants with just a single transposon insertion were generated in an overwhelming majority (98.3% in this study). Phenotypic screening of a C. difficile R20291 random mutant library yielded a sporulation/germination-defective clone with an insertion in the germination-specific protease gene cspBA and an auxotroph with an insertion in the pyrimidine biosynthesis gene pyrB. These results validate our mariner-based transposon system for use in forward genetic studies of C. difficile.
Related Concept Videos
Transposons
In vitro Mutagenesis
In-vitro Mutagenesis
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
Mutations in Microorganisms
