Introduction of nonselectible 2μ plasmid into [cir°] cells of the yeast S. cerevisiae by DNA transformation and in vivo site-specific resolution.

The 2μ DNA plasmid of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae does not confer any known selectable phenotype to the host cell carrying it. Selection of cells transformed with purified 2μ DNA therefore cannot be achieved, and the intracellular presence of 2μ can only be assessed by molecular analysis of the DNA complement. In addition, 2μ alone does not replicate in bacterial hosts, thus rendering its amplification by conventional methods impossible. We have isolated a shuttle plasmid, pBH-2L, generated by in vivo sites-pecific recombination between the endogenous 2μ DNA plasmid and pRL, a pBR322 derivative containing the yeast LEU2 gene and one 2μ repeat sequence associated with the origin of replication. This new shuttle plasmid has the property, when transformed into yeast, of undergoing site-specific recombinational resolution between its two direct repeat sequences. This releases 2μ plasmid and pRL as individual molecules. The latter can undergo progressive mitotic loss during growth in nonselective medium, ultimately leaving leucine auxotrophic transformants that contain only 2μ DNA plasmid. This system can be utilized to introduce 2μ DNA alone into cells lacking it, thereby providing a novel means to study the biology and the molecular genetics of the plasmid and its potential practical applications as a vector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]