Manipulating Cytomegalovirus Genomes by BAC Mutagenesis:Strategies and Applications
Wolfram Brune, Markus Wagner, and Martin Messerle
from: Cytomegaloviruses: Molecular Biology and Immunology (Edited by: Matthias J. Reddehase). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2006)
Abstract
The generation of CMV mutants has been a difficult task especially because of the large genome size and the slow replication cycle of the CMVs. The recent cloning of CMV genomes as infectious bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) in E. coli opened new horizons for the construction of mutant CMVs by utilizing the methods of bacterial genetics. This chapter gives an overview of BAC cloning and the various mutagenesis techniques that allow targeted as well as random manipulations of CMV genomes. Selected examples give an impression of the power of the reverse and forward genetic procedures. The new techniques provide the basis for a comprehensive analysis of CMV gene functions as well for vaccine development read more ...
