Bacterial conjugation in the ruminant pathogen <i>Mycoplasma agalactiae</i> is influenced by eukaryotic host factors.

ABSTRACT: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays a pivotal role in the evolution and adaptation of genome-reduced mycoplasmas. The conjugative properties of these organisms are key in this phenomenon but are largely understudied, particularly in vivo. In the present study, the ruminant pathogen Mycoplasma agalactiae was used as a model organism to document mycoplasma conjugation in environments of increasing complexity, from axenic to cell and organotypic culture conditions. Compared to axenic mating conditions, mycoplasma co-cultivation with goat epithelial cells or bovine precision-cut lung slices resulted in enhanced mating frequencies with high rates of M. agalactiae integrative and conjugative element (ICEA) self-dissemination. These results were conditioned by the presence o

SUBMITTER: Derriche M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12175501 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature