Evolution of a Plasmid Regulatory Circuit Ameliorates Plasmid Fitness Cost.

ABSTRACT: Plasmids play a major role in rapid adaptation of bacteria by facilitating horizontal transfer of diverse genes, most notably those conferring antibiotic resistance. While most plasmids that replicate in a broad range of bacteria also persist well in diverse hosts, there are exceptions that are poorly understood. We investigated why a broad-host range plasmid, pBP136, originally found in clinical Bordetella pertussis isolates, quickly became extinct in laboratory Escherichia coli populations. Through experimental evolution we found that inactivation of a previously uncharacterized plasmid gene, upf31, drastically improved plasmid maintenance in E. coli. This gene inactivation resulted in decreased transcription of the global plasmid regulators (korA, k

SUBMITTER: Elg CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10871194 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature