D29 shuttle phasmids and uses thereof

摘要

The present invention provides a conditional shuttle phasmid constructed by inserting a cosmid into a non-essential region of the D29 mycobacteriophage which is capable of introducing DNA of interest into the chromosome of mycobacteria, especially M. tuberculosis complex organisms and other slow growing mycobacteria. The present invention provides a recombinant mycobacterium which expresses a DNA of interest incorporated into its chromosome by a conditional shuttle plasmid containing the DNA of interest. The present invention further provides a mycobacterial auxotrophic mutant and method of generating auxotrophic mutants. Finally, the present invention provides a method of inactivating a mycobacterial virulence gene.