INTEGRATION OF TN5053 AND TN402 INTO DIFF ERENT PLASMIDS

Transposons Tn5053 and Tn402 that belong to the novel family of Tn ele ments are characterized by high selectivity when choosing a target. Th ese transposons integrated with a high frequency into only two of seve n large plasmids of various incompatibility groups: RP1 and R446b. The res region of the RP1 plasmid par locus and the res region of the tra nsposon Tn701, included into R446b plasmid, served as targets for both transposons. When Tn701 or par locus integrated into plasmids previou sly unsuitable for Tn5053 and Tn402 trans position, these plasmids bec ame good targets for both transposons. On the contrary, when the res r egion 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.