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Related Experiment Videos

Conjugative plasmid transfer in gram-positive bacteria.

Elisabeth Grohmann1, Günther Muth, Manuel Espinosa

  • 1Microbial Ecology Group, University of Technology Berlin, D-10587 Berlin, Germany. elisabeth.grohmann@tu-berlin.de

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews : MMBR
|June 10, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Bacterial plasmid conjugation drives antibiotic resistance spread. This study reveals two distinct conjugation mechanisms in gram-positive bacteria, differing from gram-negative systems.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Conjugative plasmid transfer is a primary driver of antibiotic resistance.
  • Mechanisms of plasmid transfer in gram-negative bacteria are well-understood.
  • Plasmid transfer in gram-positive bacteria remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the mechanisms of conjugative plasmid transfer in gram-positive bacteria.
  • To compare these mechanisms with those in gram-negative bacteria.
  • To identify potential differences in transfer strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Sequence analysis of conjugative plasmids from gram-positive bacteria.
  • Comparison of transfer (tra) regions with known systems.
  • Identification of key genes and proteins involved in DNA transfer.

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Main Results:

  • Gram-positive bacteria share similarities with gram-negative bacteria in DNA relaxases, origin of transfer (oriT), and nucleoside triphosphatases (NTP-ases).
  • A unique mechanism involving a single gene for a septal DNA translocator protein exists in micelle-forming streptomycetes.
  • Two distinct conjugative mechanisms are proposed for gram-positive bacteria.

Conclusions:

  • Gram-positive bacteria utilize at least two distinct plasmid conjugation systems.
  • Unicellular gram-positive bacteria employ a mechanism similar to gram-negative bacteria.
  • Multicellular gram-positive bacteria may use a double-stranded DNA transfer mechanism.