Open AccessHorizontal transfer of nonconjugative plasmids in a colony biofilm of Escherichia coli
Author(s) -
Maeda Sumio,
Ito Miki,
Ando Tsuyako,
Ishimoto Yuko,
Fujisawa Yukiko,
Takahashi Hitomi,
Matsuda Akiko,
Sawamura Akiko,
Kato Shiho
Publication year - 2006
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.1574-6968.2005.00072.x
Subject(s) - plasmid , escherichia coli , biofilm , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , strain (injury) , agar , bacteria , agar plate , horizontal gene transfer , dna , gene , genetics , genome , anatomy
We tested the possibility of nonconjugative lateral DNA transfer in a colony biofilm of mixed Escherichia coli strains. By simply coculturing a plasmid‐free F − strain and another F − strain harboring a nonconjugative plasmid in a colony biofilm on antibiotic‐free agar media, transformed cells were produced within 24–48 h at the frequency of 10 −10 –10 −9 per recipient cell. PCR analysis of the transformed cells demonstrated the occurrence of lateral plasmid transfer. These cells survived until at least day 7 under antibiotic‐free conditions. Liquid cultures of the same strains in Luria–Bertani broth produced no or few transformants, suggesting the importance of colony‐biofilm formation for plasmid transfer. This is a novel line of evidence indicating that nonconjugative, nonviral horizontal gene transfer can occur between E. coli cells.