Evaporation-induced hydrodynamics promote conjugation-mediated plasmid transfer in microbial populations.

ABSTRACT: Conjugative plasmids bestow important traits to microbial communities, such as virulence, antibiotic resistance, pollutant biotransformation, and biotechnology-relevant functions. While the biological mechanisms and determinants of plasmid conjugation are well established, the underlying physical and ecological driving forces remain unclear. Microbial communities often inhabit unsaturated environments, such as soils and host surfaces (e.g., skin, teeth, leaves, roots), where water evaporation and associated small-scale hydrodynamic processes frequently occur at numerous air-water and solid-water interfaces. Here, we hypothesized that evaporation can induce water flows with profound effects on the spatial distribution and surface deposition of cells, and consequently on the extent of plasmi

SUBMITTER: Ruan C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9723580 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature