Physiological and biochemical consequences of host-plasmid interaction--a case study with Corynebacterium renale, a...

Corynebacterium renale harbors four small cryptic plasmids, pCR1, pCR2, pCR3 and pCR4, and can be a good system for understanding host-plasmid interactions. In the present study, effect of plasmid loss and their subsequent introduction on various properties of the host was evaluated. Loss of plasmids caused a reduction in bacterial size and also slowed down their growth rate, μ, and respiratory rate, r. Both μ and r values were partially recovered in C. renale R, obtained by retransformation of the cured strain with all the four cryptic plasmids. Further delineation revealed that a 3153bp plasmid pCR2 alone is sufficient for the observed increase in μ in C. renale R. The advantages conferred by the remaining three plasmids may be are two subtle to be seen under laboratory conditions. Overall, the observations point to the gross metabolic crisis in the host partly as a result of loss of plasmids. Based on the findings, a mutualistic relationship between the host and the plasmids resulting from their coevolution is proposed.