Random Insertion of a TetR-Inducing Peptide Tag into Escherichia coli Proteins Allows Analysis of Protein Levels by Induction of Reporter Gene Expression

The insertion element InsTipalpha was constructed to generate protein expression data. It randomly fuses the TetR-inducing peptide Tip to the affected reading frame. Fusion protein expression is quantified by Tet-regulated reporter gene expression. The expression patterns of tagged Escherichia coli genes fully agree with published data from transcriptional fusions or microarrays, validating the Tip tag approach.