Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Published on: September 28, 2022
Identification of phage recombinase function unit in genus Corynebacterium
Yizhao Chang1, Qian Wang2, Tianyuan Su3
1State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
We identified 60 novel phage recombinase function units (PRFUs) in Corynebacterium genomes. A PRFU from C. aurimucosum showed high efficiency for recombineering, advancing genetic engineering in this genus.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Phage recombinase function units (PRFUs) are essential for phage life cycles and have been repurposed for recombineering in Escherichia coli.
- Most PRFUs function optimally only in their native hosts, necessitating the discovery of new PRFUs for diverse species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize novel PRFUs within the Corynebacterium genus.
- To evaluate the recombineering efficiency of identified PRFUs in Corynebacterium glutamicum.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis of 423 Corynebacterium genomes using a database-to-database search method to predict PRFUs.
- Experimental verification of recombineering capabilities for eight representative PRFUs in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032.
Main Results:
- Identified 60 unique PRFUs across 8 distinct evolutionary types within the Corynebacterium genus.
- Experimentally confirmed the recombineering ability of 8 representative PRFUs in C. glutamicum.
- The PRFU from Corynebacterium aurimucosum demonstrated the highest efficiency (10^-2 magnitude) for both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA-mediated recombineering.
Conclusions:
- This study presents the first systematic bioinformatic mining and analysis of PRFUs in Corynebacterium.
- The identified PRFUs, particularly the highly efficient one from C. aurimucosum, are valuable tools for advancing genome engineering in the Corynebacterium genus.
- These findings offer new insights into the study and application of PRFUs in microbial genetics.
Related Concept Videos
DNA Bacteriophages
CRISPR and crRNAs
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
Viral Replication: Lytic Cycle
Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle

