Single-cell analyses revealed transfer ranges of IncP-1, IncP-7, and IncP-9 plasmids in a soil bacterial community.

ABSTRACT: The conjugative transfer ranges of three different plasmids of the incompatibility groups IncP-1 (pBP136), IncP-7 (pCAR1), and IncP-9 (NAH7) were investigated in soil bacterial communities by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Pseudomonas putida, a donor of each plasmid, was mated with soil bacteria, and green fluorescent protein (GFP), encoded on the plasmid, was used as a reporter protein for successful transfer. GFP-expressing transconjugants were detected and separated at the single-cell level by flow cytometry. Each cell was then analyzed by PCR and sequencing of its 16S rRNA gene following either whole-genome amplification or cultivation. A large number of bacteria within the phylum Proteobacteria was identified as transconjugants for pBP136 by both culture-dependent

SUBMITTER: Shintani M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911017 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature