Flagellar rotation facilitates the transfer of a bacterial conjugative plasmid.

ABSTRACT: Conjugation-mediated DNA delivery is the primary mode for antibiotic resistance spread in bacteria; yet, molecular mechanisms regulating the conjugation process remain largely unexplored. While conjugative plasmids typically require bacterial attachment to solid surfaces for facilitation of donor-to-recipient proximity, the pLS20 conjugative plasmid, prevalent among Gram-positive Bacillus spp., uniquely requires fluid environments to enhance its transfer. Here, we show that pLS20, carried by Bacillus subtilis, induces multicellular clustering, which can accommodate various species, hence offering a stable platform for DNA delivery in a liquid milieu. We further discovered that induction of pLS20 promoters, governing crucial conjugative genes, is dependent on the presence of donor cell flag

SUBMITTER: Bhattacharya S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11730352 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature