Open AccessStability of IncQ and IncP‐1 vector plasmids in Rhizobium spp.
Author(s) -
Donnelly Daniel F.,
Birkenhead Kate,
O'Gara Fergal
Publication year - 1987
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/j.1574-6968.1987.tb02061.x
Subject(s) - plasmid , bradyrhizobium japonicum , biology , cloning vector , rhizobium , vector (molecular biology) , microbiology and biotechnology , rhizobiaceae , genetics , bacteria , dna , symbiosis , gene , recombinant dna
The stability of cloning vectors belonging to incompatibility groups P and Q was investigated in Rhizobium meliloti and Bradyrhizobium japonicum . The IncQ plasmids pKT230 and pKT231 could not be established in B. japonicum CJ1. These plasmids were readily transferred into R. meliloti CM2. Under non‐selective aerobic growth conditions, plasmid pKT231 segregated from R. meliloti CM2 at a rate of 2% per generation compared to a rate of < 1% per generation for the IncP‐1 plasmid pRK290. The segregation rate of plasmid pRK290 was also shown to increase when it contained a 40‐kb DNA insert. Under free living nitrogen‐fixing conditions the segregation rate of the P‐1 plasmids from B. japonicum was estimated to be 10% per generation which is significantly higher than the rate observed under aerobic growth conditions. The implications of these findings are discussed.