Droplet size and surface hydrophobicity enhance bacterial plasmid transfer rates in microscopic surface wetness.

ABSTRACT: Conjugal plasmids constitute a major engine for horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, and are key drivers of the spread of antibiotic resistance, virulence, and metabolic functions. Bacteria in terrestrial habitats often inhabit surfaces that are not constantly water-saturated, where microscopic surface wetness (MSW), comprised of thin liquid films and microdroplets, permanently or intermittently occurs. How physical properties of microdroplets, and of the surfaces they reside on, affect plasmid transfer rates is not well understood. Here, building on microscopy-based microdroplet experiments, we examined the relation between droplet properties (size and spread) and plasmid transfer rates at single-cell and individual droplet resolution, using Pseudomonas putida as a model species. We show

SUBMITTER: Orevi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9723546 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature