Construction of two selectable markers for integrative/conjugative plasmids in Flavobacterium columnare

Flavobacterium columnare, the etiological agent of columnaris disease, is one of the most important and widespread bacterial pathogens of freshwater fish. In this study, we constructed two artificial selectable markers (chloramphenicol and spectinomycin resistance) for gene transfer in F. columnare. These two new artificial selectable markers, which were created by placing the chloramphenicol or spectinomycin resistance gene under the control of the native acs regulatory region of F. columnare, were functional in both F. columnare and Escherichia coli. The integrative/conjugative plasmids constructed by using these markers were introduced into F. columnare G₄ via electroporation or conjugation. The integrated plasmid DNA was confirmed by Southern blotting and PCR analysis. These two markers can be employed in future investigations into gene deletion and the pathogenicity of virulence factors in F. columnare.