AN AUTOREGULATORY SYSTEM FOR VALIDATING MICROBIAL GENES AS POSSIBLE ANTIMICROBIAL TARGETS USING A TETRACYCLINE-CONTROLLABLE ELEMENT

摘要

A screen has been designed to genetically engineer microbial pathogens so that expression of specific genes can be regulated in vitro and during host infection to facilitate the identification of bacterial genes essential for maintaining an infection. Specifically, gene regulatory elements which respond to the presence or absence of tetracycline are used to regulate the expression of endogenous bacterial genes. Because tetracycline is not normally present in animals, a tetracycline-regulated microbial gene can be controlled in vivo by adding or removing tetracycline from the infected animals' diet.