Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Electroporation of Functional Bacterial Effectors into Mammalian Cells
08:39

Electroporation of Functional Bacterial Effectors into Mammalian Cells

Published on: January 19, 2015

Conjugation between bacterial and mammalian cells

V L Waters1

  • 1Department of Medicine, School of Medicine University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0640, USA. vwaters@ucsd.edu

Nature Genetics
|December 1, 2001
PubMed

Insights

This study demonstrates bacterial conjugation, transferring DNA from Escherichia coli to Chinese hamster ovary cells. This marks the first evidence of classical bacterial conjugation occurring in higher eukaryotic cells.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Bacterial conjugation is a mechanism for DNA transfer between bacteria, first described in 1946.
  • While plasmids like F and RK2/RP4 facilitate bacterial DNA transfer to yeast, transfer to higher eukaryotes was unproven.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the possibility of classical bacterial conjugation occurring between bacteria and higher eukaryotic cells.
  • To present evidence for DNA transfer from bacteria to mammalian cells via conjugation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the bacterium Escherichia coli as the donor.
  • Employed the RK2 plasmid system for DNA transfer.
  • Used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO K1) cells as the recipient eukaryotic cell line.

Main Results:

  • Successfully demonstrated DNA transfer from Escherichia coli to Chinese hamster ovary cells.
  • Provided the first evidence of classical bacterial conjugation mediating DNA transfer to higher eukaryotes.

Conclusions:

  • Bacterial conjugation can occur between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
  • This finding opens new avenues for genetic engineering and understanding inter-domain DNA transfer.

More Related Videos

Conjugative Mating Assays for Sequence-specific Analysis of Transfer Proteins Involved in Bacterial Conjugation10:41

Conjugative Mating Assays for Sequence-specific Analysis of Transfer Proteins Involved in Bacterial Conjugation

Published on: January 4, 2017

Stability and Structure of Bat Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I with Heterologous β2-Microglobulin11:17

Stability and Structure of Bat Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I with Heterologous β2-Microglobulin

Published on: March 10, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Bacterial Signaling01:30

Bacterial Signaling

Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...
Bacterial Transformation01:33

Bacterial Transformation

In 1928, bacteriologist Frederick Griffith worked on a vaccine for pneumonia, which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Griffith studied two pneumonia strains in mice: one pathogenic and one non-pathogenic. Only the pathogenic strain killed host mice.Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
Coordination of Gene Expression Processes in Bacteria01:29

Coordination of Gene Expression Processes in Bacteria

The DNA replication, transcription, and translation processes are intricately coupled in bacteria, allowing efficient gene expression and rapid protein synthesis. While this physical and functional coordination is advantageous, it introduces challenges that bacteria overcome through specific regulatory mechanisms.Coupling of Replication, Transcription, and TranslationThe coupling of replication, transcription, and translation is a hallmark of bacterial gene expression. As the replisome unwinds...
Conjugation01:19

Conjugation

Conjugation is a form of horizontal gene transfer that primarily occurs in bacteria and some archaea, promoting genetic diversity and adaptation. Bacteria can acquire resistance genes through conjugative plasmids, allowing them to survive antibiotic treatments that would otherwise be lethal. This process involves direct contact between cells through specialized structures such as the sex pilus and is mediated by conjugative plasmids, including the F (fertility) factor.Conjugation requires...
Mechanism of Conjugation01:19

Mechanism of Conjugation

Bacterial conjugation is a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer that enables the exchange of genetic material between bacterial cells through direct contact. This process is facilitated by a donor cell carrying a conjugative plasmid, which encodes genes necessary for pilus formation, DNA replication, and transfer. The conjugative plasmid plays a central role in initiating and executing the transfer of genetic material.The tra region of the conjugative plasmid encodes proteins responsible for...
Transduction01:16

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...