P.carinii Libraries

Clone Libraries

Four libraries will be constructed: pLorist6Xh, pWEB, BAC, plasmid shotgun libraries. Each library will be made available and ordered clones also will be available. Browse or search the clone database! (Coming soon!)

pLorist6Xh (Gibson, T.J. A. Rosenthal, and R.H. Waterston (1987) Gene 53: 283-286) using Form 1 rat Pc. This vector contains hygromycin and neomycin resistance markers, and a multiple cloning site with an XhoI restriction site. Sau 3A partially digested Form 1 Pc DNA was ligated in XhoI- digested pLorist6Xh vector after a 2 nucleotide fill-in of both vector and Pc DNA to inhibit self-ligation and produce compatible ends between target and vector. The cosmids were packaged with GigaPack XL and transfected into XL1 Blue MR. Approximately 4000 colonies were picked and transferred to (40) 96-well microtiter plates, grown and replicated onto nylon membranes using a 96 pin replicator and a frame to permit stamping of clones in 16 microtiter plates as 4 x 4 plate arrays of 1536 clones. The entire 3,840 clones were stamped onto 2.5 nylon membranes containing 1536 clones each arrayed in a 4 plate tetrad arrangement permitting an alphanumeric identity for each clone. Bacterial colonies were grown overnight by overlay of the membranes on top of LB-kanamycin agar in large glass dishes. The colonies were subsequently lysed with a sodium dodecyl-alkaline solution, neutralized, and washed. The Pc DNA was fixed to the membranes by UV-crosslinking.

a. Library characterization. All purified Pc populations contain varying degrees of host cell contamination. Hybridization of 42% of the library (1536 of 3840 clones) with rat cell DNA revealed 12.1% positive clones (186/1536), an acceptable contamination level. The clones identified as rat in origin will eventually be eliminated from the library as it is compressed during the physical mapping strategy. The library was estimated to contain 10 genome Pc equivalents based on hybridization with single copy genes and subtraction of rat DNA clones, i.e. hybridization of 1350 Pc clones with single copy genes, fas (folic acid synthase), enolase, and a putative MAP kinase produced 3-4 clones each, which would be expected from membranes containing ~40% of the library (1350/3840). A conserved msg probe (PCR product of 800 bp to msg-b) hybridized to 8.15% of the library clones (110/1350 non-rat clones). The Pc genome has been estimated to contain 100 MSG genes, or 10% of its genome. A probe containing an msg- and a protease gene (clone 12H9) had homology with 83/3840 clones (the entire library); or about 2.2% of the clones. This relatively low number may be due to the specificity of this particular gene array. Another previously described repeat, the alpha -repeat, found upstream of the alpha -tubulin gene hybridized to 8/1600 clones, or about 0.5%. One unusual set of clones was identified; 12 of the original 1536 hybridized to both MSG and rat probes (0.8%), suggesting chimerization. That there may be some chimeras in the library was also supported by sequence data from one clone which yielded what appeared to be sequences off of two T7 primers, suggesting the presence of 2 vectors in the cosmid

pWEB. Form 1 P. carinii f. sp. carinii was again selected for cloning into the cosmid vector, pWEB (Epicentre Technologies, Madison, WI). The organisms were obtained from a Lewis rat maintained at the Cincinnati VAMC VMU and seeded with rats infected with Form 1. The lung homogenate containing the organisms was treated with ammonium chloride (0.85% aqueous) to lyse erythrocytes and some host cells, extensively filtered through a series of 10 um filters (~ 12 filtrations) to further reduce host cell contamination, enumerated by microscopic analysis, treated with 10 ug/ml DNAse at 37C for 30 minutes, washed with 250 mM EDTA then 125 mM EDTA, centrifuged at 1000xg, resuspended in 0.5ml 125 mM EDTA and 1 ml 1.2% low melt agarose and digested overnight in a solution of SDS and proteinase K at 55C (Cushion MT, Zhang J, Kaselis M, et al. 1993. J. Clin. Microbiol. 31: 1217-1223).

DNA was purified from the agarose block using Phaselock PLG 1 Light tubes (5-3 Prime, Boulder, CO) , size selected at >40 kb by agarose electrophoresis through low melt agarose, treated with gelase, ethanol precipitated and ligated and packaged according to vendor protocol (EpiCentre). 1152 colonies on LB-carbenicillin plates were picked into 12-96 well plates, permitted to grow overnight, and gridded onto nylon membranes for characterization.

a. Library characterization. One of 18 clones evaluated for insert size and empty vectors, contained no insert and the remaining inserts were 35-40 kb. Hybridization of 1152 clones with rat DNA showed < 1% rat contamination; with msgB, 4% representation; and with the glucan synthase probe, 1.4% hybridization. No evidence for chimerization has been observed to date.

BAC. Not yet constructed.

Plasmid library for shotgun sequencing, 1-2 kb inserts. Not yet constructed.

Chuck Staben07/13/99