Shuttle phasmidShuttle phasmids, sometimes called phagemids, are chimeric DNA vectors that replicate as plasmids in Escherichia coli as mycobacteriophages and in mycobacteria.[1] ApplicationShuttle phasmids, sometimes called phagemids,[2] allow the insertion of foreign genetic material into the mycobacterial genome through homologous recombination (HR) or transposons.[3] Transformation efficiencies achieved through shuttle phasmids far exceed those resulting from electroporation.[4] HistoryIn 1987, William Jacobs Jr. et al. utilized a shuttle phasmid for the first successful introduction of foreign DNA into mycobacteria. The employed shuttle phasmid—a term they coined—consisted of an E. coli bacteriophage lambda cosmid inserted into a non-essential region of mycobacteriophage TM4.[5][4] Bardarov et al first created temperature-sensitive shuttle phasmids that replicate and form plaques at 30°C but are unable to do so at 37°C.[4] Bardarov et al also adapted shuttle phasmids to insert or knock out genes via homologous recombination, a process termed specialized transduction.[4] Shuttle phasmids enabled the isolation of mc²155, the fist plasmid-transformable Mycobacterium smegmatis strain.[6] ReferencesCitations
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