Open AccessThe ability of soil bacteria to receive the conjugative I nc P 1 plasmid, p KJK 10, is different in a mixed community compared to single strains
Author(s) -
de la CruzPerera Claudia I.,
Ren Dawei,
Blanchet Marine,
Dendooven Luc,
Marsch Rodolfo,
Sørensen Søren J.,
Burmølle Mette
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6968.12036
Subject(s) - plasmid , pseudomonas putida , escherichia coli , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , bacterial conjugation , bacteria , pseudomonas , enterobacteriaceae , stenotrophomonas maltophilia , gene , genetics , pseudomonas aeruginosa
Horizontal gene transfer by conjugation is common among bacterial populations in soil. It is well known that the host range of plasmids depends on several factors, including the identity of the plasmid host cell. In the present study, however, we demonstrate that the composition of the recipient community is also determining for the dissemination of a conjugative plasmid. We isolated 15 different bacterial strains from soil and assessed the conjugation frequencies of the I nc P 1 plasmid, pKJK 10, by flow cytometry, from two different donors, E scherichia coli and P seudomonas putida , to either 15 different bacterial strains or to the mixed community composed of all the 15 strains. We detected transfer of p KJK 10 from P . putida to S tenotrophomonas rhizophila in a diparental mating , but no transfer was observed to the mixed community. In contrast, for E . coli , transfer was observed only to the mixed community, where O chrobactrum rhizosphaerae was identified as the dominating plasmid recipient. Our results indicate that the presence of a bacterial community impacts the plasmid permissiveness by affecting the ability of strains to receive the conjugative plasmid.