Vibrio natriegens, a new genomic powerhouse

Abstract

Recombinant DNA technology has revolutionized biomedical research with continual innovations advancing the speed and throughput of molecular biology. Nearly all these tools, however, are reliant onEscherichia colias a host organism, and its lengthy growth rate increasingly dominates experimental time. Here we report the development ofVibrio natriegens, a free-living bacteria with the fastest generation time known, into a genetically tractable host organism. We systematically characterize its growth properties to establish basic laboratory culturing conditions. We provide the first completeVibrio natriegensgenome, consisting of two chromosomes of 3,248,023 bp and 1,927,310 bp that together encode 4,578 open reading frames. We reveal genetic tools and techniques for working withVibrio natriegens. These foundational resources will usher in an era of advanced genomics to accelerate biological, biotechnological, and medical discoveries.