[Incorporation of Tn5053 and Tn402 into various plasmids]

Transposons Tn5053 and Tn402 that belong to the novel family of Tn elements are characterized by high selectivity when choosing a target. These transposons integrated with a high frequency into only two of seven large plasmids of various incompatibility groups: RP1 and R446b. The res region of the RP1 plasmid par locus and the res region of the transposon Tn701, included into R446b plasmid, served as targets for both transposons. When Tn701 or par locus integrated into plasmids previously unsuitable for Tn5053 and Tn402 transposition, these plasmids became good targets for both transposons. On the contrary, when the res region of RP1 was damaged impaired, this good target became unsuitable. The insertion sites of Tn5053 and Tn402 were concentrated in the res region of Tn1721 and RP1, but, in some cases, they were at a distance of 100-2000 bp from it.