Ubiquitous Conjugative Mega-Plasmids of Acinetobacter Species and Their Role in Horizontal Transfer of Multi-Drug Resistance.

ABSTRACT: Conjugative mega-plasmids play a special role in adaptation since they carry a huge number of accessory genes, often allowing the host to develop in new niches. In addition, due to conjugation they are able to effectively spread themselves and participate in the transfer of small mobilizable plasmids. In this work, we present a detailed characterization of a recently discovered family of multiple-drug resistance mega-plasmids of Acinetobacter species, termed group III-4a. We describe the structure of the plasmid backbone region, identify the rep gene and the origin of plasmid replication, and show that plasmids from this group are able not only to move between different Acinetobacter species but also to efficiently mobilize small plasmids containing different mob

SUBMITTER: Mindlin S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8490738 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature