Electrotransformation of Yersinia ruckeri by plasmid DNA

Yersinia ruckeri, a fish pathogenic bacterium in aquaculture, was used to evaluate the electroporation as a new transformation method for this species. DNA used for the electrotransformation were plasmids of molecular mass ranging from 2.3 kb to 33 kb, and diverse replicons. To optimize this method we used Y. ruckeri 11.29 strain (from serotype 02) and pSU2718 DNA. The best transformation efficiency (6.0 x 10(5) transformants/micrograms DNA) was obtained with 12.5 kV/cm, 25 microF, 400 omega and 2 hours of incubation after pulse. When these conditions were applied to other strains belonging to different serotypes and other plasmids, we obtained transformants in all strains assayed, but only when using low molecular weight plasmids. Plasmid vectors and resident plasmid were not modified in host strains after electrotransformation. In studies of conformation we confirmed that only circular DNA was able for transformation. The utilization of this technique for direct cloning in Y. ruckeri makes possible further studies on recombinant DNA.