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Updated: May 14, 2026

TransFLP — A Method to Genetically Modify Vibrio cholerae Based on Natural Transformation and FLP-recombination
Published on: October 8, 2012
The TfoX revolution: a review of genetic engineering in Vibrio natriegens
Senlin Zhong1, Jiaxin Tang1, Zhuojun Dai1
1Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China.
Abstract:
Vibrio natriegens has emerged as a promising bacterial chassis for synthetic biology, driven by its exceptional growth rate, metabolic versatility, and natural halotolerance. However, its full potential was long constrained by the lack of efficient genetic tools. The discovery that ectopic expression of the competence master regulator TfoX unlocks high-efficiency natural transformation marked a turning point, enabling a cascade of tool developments. This review traces the evolution of V. natriegens engineering method, beginning with the TfoX-mediated competence machinery. We highlight how these tools have collectively transformed V. natriegens from a genetically intractable organism into a programmable chassis capable of iterative, scalable genome engineering and discuss remaining challenges.
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