Genetic transformation of marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. CC9311 (Cyanophyceae) by electroporation

Synechococcus sp. CC9311 is a marine cyanobacterium characterized by type IV chromatic acclimation (CA). A genetic transformation system was developed as a first step to elucidate the molecular mechanism of CA. The results show that Synechococcus sp. CC9311 cells were sensitive to four commonly used antibiotics: ampicillin, kanamycin, spectinomycin, and chloramphenicol. An integrative plasmid to disrupt the putative phycoerythrin lyase gene mpeV, using a kanamycin resistance gene as selectable marker, was constructed by recombinant polymerase chain reaction. The plasmid was then transformed into Synechococcus sp. CC9311 via electroporation. High transformation efficiency was achieved at a field strength of 2 kV/cm. DNA analysis showed that mpeV was fully disrupted following challenge of the transformants with a high concentration of kanamycin. In addition, the transformants that displayed poor growth on agar SN medium could be successfully plated on agarose SN medium.