title: Bacterial toxin-antitoxin gene system as containment control in yeast cells.
abstract: The potential of a bacterial toxin-antitoxin gene system for use in containment control in eukaryotes was explored. The Escherichia coli relE and relB genes were expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Expression of the relE gene was highly toxic to yeast cells. However, expression of the relB gene counteracted the effect of relE to some extent, suggesting that toxin-antitoxin interaction also occurs in S. cerevisiae. Thus, bacterial toxin-antitoxin gene systems also have potential applications in the control of cell proliferation in eukaryotic cells, especially in those industrial fermentation processes in which the escape of genetically modified cells would be considered highly risky.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kristoffersen
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gerdes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piskur
mesh_terms: D000992:Antitoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001709:Biotechnology; D003264:Containment of Biohazards / Q000379:methods*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000992:Antitoxins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D017931:DNA Primers