Transposon mutagenesis affecting thiosulfate oxidation in Bosea thiooxidans, a new chemolithoheterotrophic bacterium

Transposon insertion mutagenesis was used to isolate mutants of Bosea thiooxidans which are impaired in thiosulfate oxidation. Suicide plasmid pSUP5011 was used to introduce the transposon Tn5 into B. thiooxidans via Escherichia coli S17.1-mediated conjugation. Neomycin-resistant transconjugants occurred at a frequency of 2.2 X 10(-4) per donor. Transconjugants defective in thiosulfate oxidation were categorized into three classes on the basis of growth response, enzyme activities, and cytochrome patterns. Class I mutants were deficient in cytochrome c, and no thiosulfate oxidase activity was detected. Class II mutants retained the activities of key enzymes of thiosulfate metabolism, although at reduced levels. Mutants of this class grown on mixed-substrate agar plates deposited elemental sulfur on the colony surfaces. Class III mutants were unable to utilize thiosulfate, though they had normal levels of cytochrome c. The transposon insertions occurred at different chromosomal positions, as confirmed by Southern blotting of chromosomal DNA of mutants deficient in thiosulfate oxidation, a deficiency which resulted from single insertions of Tn5.