Analysis of transposable elements inserted in the genomes of bacteriophages Mu and P1

We have examined the genomes of the temperate bacteriophages Mu and P1 and some of their insertion mutants for hybridization with the prokaryotic transposable elements IS1 and IS2. We used the DNA blotting-hybridization technique in which denatured DNA fragments are transferred to nitrocellulose paper directly from agarose gels and hybridized to 32P-labeled probe DNA. The 800 base pair insertion in an X mutant of Mu was found to hybridize with IS1. The chloramphenicol resistance transposon, Tn9, in Mu X cam mutants was found to be located at or close to the sites of IS1 insertion in X mutants; Tn9 also hybridized with IS1. The restriction endonuclease BalI cleaved IS1 once; it cleaved Tn9 in all Mu X cam mutants twice to release a fragment of about 1700 base pairs. These results support the conclusion that Tn9 contains one copy of IS1 at each end. In the P1cam isolate, from which Tn9 was transposed to Mu, BalI made a third cut in Tn9 giving rise to fragments of about 850 base pairs. The data further suggested that Tn9 is present in tandem copies in the P1cam isolate we examined. P1 itself was found to harbor IS1. The two P1 strains tested had a common fragment containing IS1; one strain had an additional copy of IS1. The IS1 element common to the P1 strains was shown to be the site of the Tn9 insertion in the P1cam isolate examined. No hybridization between IS2 and any of the Mu and P1 strains could be detected.