Expression of the Escherichia coli lamB gene in Vibrio cholerae

A phage lambda mediated transduction system was devised to facilitate molecular analysis of Vibrio cholerae. A lamB expression plasmid, pAMH62 was introduced into Vibrio cholerae by conjugation. The resulting V. cholerae derivatives harboring pAMH62 produced substantial amounts of the LamB protein. This protein was properly inserted into the outer membrane, as suggested by (i) its localization into the cell envelope, (ii) its association with the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall, and (iii) its function as receptor for phage lambda. In vivo packaged cosmids were efficiently transduced into these strains of V. cholerae.