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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
08:39
Electroporation of Functional Bacterial Effectors into Mammalian Cells
Published on: January 19, 2015
Conjugation between bacterial and mammalian cells.
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
Summary
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.
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