Modified microorganisms and method of preparing and using same

Abstract

Microorganisms have been developed which may be characterized as possessing substantially all of the following qualities or capabilities: (a) capable of having foreign genetic information introduced thereinto and recovered therefrom along with its expression with production of useful gene products; (b) the microorganism being dependent for growth and survival upon defined conditions; (c) the microorganism being incapable of establishment or growth or colonization and/or survival under conditions or in ecological niches that are considered to be natural and/or undesirable for said microorganism; (d) the microorganism being capable of causing genetic information incorporated therein to undergo degradation under conditions or ecological niches that are considered to be natural and/or undesirable for said microorganism; (e) the microorganism being capable of permitting cloning vectors incorporated therein to be dependent for their replication, maintenance and/or function on said microorganism; (f) the microorganism being substantially incapable of transmitting cloning vectors or recombinant DNA molecules incorporated therein to other organisms under conditions or ecological niches that are considered to be natural and/or undesirable for said microorganism; (g) the microorganism being capable of being monitored by suitable means and/or techniques without substantial alteration of said microorganism; and (h) the microorganism being susceptible of substantially minimal contamination with other organisms when recombinant DNA molecules are incorporated therein and being substantially incapable of contaminating other organisms when incorporated therein or consumed thereby when recombinant DNA molecules are incorporated in said microorganism. Examples of such microorganisms are Escherichia coli K-12 .chi.1776, Escherichia coli K-12 .chi.1972, Escherichia coli K-12 .chi.1976 and Escherichia coli K-12 .chi.2076. Additionally, techniques have been developed and employed for imparting special properties, e.g. genetic properties, to microorganisms which render the resulting microorganisms unique. Also, techniques have been developed for the handling of plasmid and/or bacteriophage cloning DNA vectors for eventual insertion into microorganisms for testing therein, such as the above-mentioned microorganisms, and techniques have been developed for the transformation of microorganisms, such as the above-identified microorganisms, for the introduction of recombinant DNA molecules thereinto. Also, techniques have been developed in connection with the development or production of the above-identified microorganisms which impart special genetically-linked properties thereto, which techniques are applicable to a large number and diversity of microorganisms, including not only bacteria but also yeast and other cellular material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.