Method for identifying microbial proliferation genes
First Claim
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1. A method for identifying microbial proliferation genes, comprising the steps of:
- a) introducing an exogenous nucleic acid into a microorganism, the exogenous nucleic acid having substantial sequence identity to an endogenous microbial gene and wherein the exogenous nucleic acid is a random fragment or a random sequence; and
b) identifying the endogenous gene as a microbial proliferation gene by comparing the proliferation or viability of the microorganism when the exogenous nucleic acid is expressed in or introduced into the microorganism with the proliferation or viability of the microorganism when the exogenous nucleic acid is not present or not expressed.
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Abstract
A method for identifying endogenous microbial proliferation genes for growth and viability is disclosed herein. The method involves exogenous nucleic acids that are used to conditionally produce antisense inhibitors of endogenous complementary mRNAs in a microorganism. Antisense fragments that result in lethality when expressed indicate that the endogenous gene is a proliferation gene. The method can also be used with sequences in sense orientation. The strategy can be used to identify new gene targets for novel antibiotics.
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36 Claims
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1. A method for identifying microbial proliferation genes, comprising the steps of:
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a) introducing an exogenous nucleic acid into a microorganism, the exogenous nucleic acid having substantial sequence identity to an endogenous microbial gene and wherein the exogenous nucleic acid is a random fragment or a random sequence; and
b) identifying the endogenous gene as a microbial proliferation gene by comparing the proliferation or viability of the microorganism when the exogenous nucleic acid is expressed in or introduced into the microorganism with the proliferation or viability of the microorganism when the exogenous nucleic acid is not present or not expressed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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19. A method for identifying a proliferation gene in a pathogenic microorganism, comprising the steps of:
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a) introducing an exogenous nucleic acid into the pathogenic microorganism, the exogenous nucleic acid having substantial sequence identity to an endogenous gene in the pathogenic microorganism, wherein the exogenous nucleic acid is a random fragment or a random sequence; and
b) identifying the endogenous gene as a proliferation gene by comparing proliferation of the pathogenic microorganism when the exogenous nucleic acid is expressed with proliferation of the pathogenic microorganism when the exogenous nucleic acid is not present or expressed, wherein reduced proliferation of the pathogenic microorganism in the presence of the exogenous nucleic acid is indicative of the proliferation gene. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification