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The Enterococcus faecalis pheromone-responsive plasmid pAM373 does not encode an entry exclusion function

E H De Boever1, D B Clewell

  • 1Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.

Plasmid
|April 26, 2001
PubMed

Insights

The Enterococcus faecalis plasmid pAM373 responds to sex pheromones but lacks the typical entry exclusion phenotype seen in similar plasmids. This unique characteristic distinguishes it from other conjugative plasmids.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Conjugative plasmids facilitate horizontal gene transfer in bacteria.
  • Sex pheromone-inducible plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis regulate mating.
  • Entry exclusion is a common phenotype of conjugative plasmids, preventing superinfection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the conjugative plasmid pAM373 from Enterococcus faecalis.
  • To investigate the mating response of pAM373 to the sex pheromone cAM373.
  • To determine if pAM373 exhibits an entry exclusion phenotype.

Main Methods:

  • Conjugation experiments were performed.
  • Bacterial mating assays were conducted.
  • Phenotypic analysis of plasmid-mediated traits was carried out.

Main Results:

  • The plasmid pAM373 confers a mating response to the sex pheromone cAM373.
  • The sex pheromone cAM373 is also produced by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus gordonii.
  • pAM373 does not confer an entry exclusion phenotype, unlike other known sex pheromone-inducible plasmids.

Conclusions:

  • pAM373 represents a unique class of conjugative plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis.
  • The absence of entry exclusion in pAM373 warrants further investigation into its regulatory mechanisms.
  • Understanding pAM373's characteristics contributes to the broader knowledge of bacterial conjugation and plasmid biology.

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