Working with Bacteria, Phage, and Plasmids

Abstract

Methods for the in vivo manipulation of bacterial genomes have improved greatly in recent years because of the discovery of new mechanisms and the gigantic leap forward in DNA-sequencing technology. Many cutting-edge approaches still rely on a variety of technical routines, the correct implementation of which is critical for the success of an experiment. Here, we introduce some of these procedures as used for Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. We begin by reviewing the aspects of the biology of these two species that are most relevant for their manipulation in the laboratory.