Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Plasmids

Plasmids

Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA molecules found in bacteria, archaea, and some eukaryotic microbes like yeast. These small, circular DNA structures typically contain fewer than 30 genes, although some may exist linearly. Plasmids vary in their number within a cell, known as copy number. Single-copy plasmids are present in one copy per cell and multi-copy plasmids are present in multiple copies, reaching over 100 copies per cell.Plasmids usually replicate independently of the chromosomal DNA...

Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle

Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle

The lysogenic cycle is a crucial viral replication strategy that allows bacteriophages to persist within host cells without immediately destroying them. This process is primarily observed in temperate phages, such as bacteriophage lambda (λ), which infects Escherichia coli. The cycle allows the viral genome to persist across bacterial generations while keeping host cells viable.Integration of the Viral GenomeUpon infection, bacteriophage lambda attaches to the bacterial surface and injects...

DNA Bacteriophages

DNA Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, utilizing their genetic material to hijack host cellular machinery for replication. DNA bacteriophages employ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes. These phages exhibit diverse replication strategies and host interactions, influencing their ecological roles and applications in biotechnology and medicine.ssDNA BacteriophagesssDNA phages, with their small genomes, utilize unique strategies to...

Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages

In contrast to the lytic cycle, phages infecting bacteria via the lysogenic cycle do not immediately kill their host cell. Instead, they combine their genome with the host genome, allowing the bacteria to replicate the phage DNA along with the bacterial genome. The incorporated copy of the phage genome is called the prophage. Some prophages can re-activate and enter the lytic cycle. This often occurs in response to a perturbation, such as DNA damage, but can also transpire in the absence of...

Genomic DNA in Prokaryotes

Genomic DNA in Prokaryotes

The genome of most prokaryotic organisms consists of double-stranded DNA organized into one circular chromosome in a region of cytoplasm called the nucleoid. The chromosome is tightly wound, or supercoiled, for efficient storage. Prokaryotes also contain other circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. These plasmids are smaller than the chromosome and often carry genes that confer adaptive functions, such as antibiotic resistance.
Genomic Diversity in Bacteria
Although bacterial genomes are much...

Bacterial Transformation

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Symbiosis: Mutualism on the move.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same author

Invasive plasmids as ecosystem engineers-from mechanism to application.

Essays in biochemistry·2026

Same author

The seminal proteome of a monandrous fly, Drosophila subobscura.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Characterisation and In Planta Activity of Bacteriophages That Infect the Key Bacterial Species Associated With Acute Oak Decline.

Microbial biotechnology·2026

Same author

Prediction of antimicrobial minimum inhibitory concentration from bacterial genomes using a scalable and interpretable machine learning approach.

npj antimicrobials and resistance·2026

Same author

Eco-evolutionary responses to plasmid-dependent phage constrain the spread of multidrug-resistance plasmids.

The ISME journal·2026

Same journal

Similar flight performance but sex-specific mitochondrial responses in free-flying pigeons.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Coral-associated fishes accelerate coral wound healing and photosynthetic recovery.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Cat colonies reshape the abundance and body size of lizards.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Visual signal dynamicity shapes detectability in the wild: an experiment with a mate-searching butterfly.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Transient marine species disproportionately expand the morphospace of North American continental freshwater fishes.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

An unrecognized fine-scale host-plant adaptation in a leaf miner: correct dorsoventral egg orientation is essential for successful leaf entry.

Biology letters·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Quantification of Plasmid-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in an Experimental Evolution Approach

Quantification of Plasmid-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in an Experimental Evolution Approach

Published on: December 14, 2019

Plasmid carriage can limit bacteria-phage coevolution.

Ellie Harrison¹, Julie Truman², Rosanna Wright³

¹Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK ellie.harrison@york.ac.uk.

Biology Letters

|August 14, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Bacterial plasmids, like pQBR103, can limit coevolution with bacteriophages. Plasmid carriage in Pseudomonas fluorescens reduced bacterial phage resistance and phage infectivity, impacting bacterial evolution.

Keywords:

bacteria–phage coevolution conjugative plasmid mucoid conversion

More Related Videos

Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Published on: May 2, 2018

High-Resolution Comparison of Bacterial Conjugation Frequencies

High-Resolution Comparison of Bacterial Conjugation Frequencies

Published on: January 10, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Quantification of Plasmid-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in an Experimental Evolution Approach

Quantification of Plasmid-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in an Experimental Evolution Approach

Published on: December 14, 2019

Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Published on: May 2, 2018

High-Resolution Comparison of Bacterial Conjugation Frequencies

High-Resolution Comparison of Bacterial Conjugation Frequencies

Published on: January 10, 2019

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics

Background:

Bacteria-phage coevolution is a significant driver of bacterial population dynamics.
Environmental and genetic factors influence the speed and nature of coevolutionary processes.
Large conjugative plasmids can alter bacterial phenotypes and evolutionary trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of conjugative plasmid pQBR103 carriage on the coevolution between Pseudomonas fluorescens and its bacteriophage SBW25ϕ2.
To determine if plasmid carriage affects the development of phage resistance in bacteria and infectivity in phages.
To explore the role of mucoidy in bacterial adaptation during phage-host coevolution in the presence of plasmids.

Main Methods:

Experimental evolution of Pseudomonas fluorescens with and without the conjugative plasmid pQBR103 in the presence of bacteriophage SBW25ϕ2.
Quantification of bacterial phage resistance and phage infectivity over multiple coevolutionary cycles.
Analysis of the costs associated with phage resistance mutations and the frequency of mucoid bacterial phenotypes.

Main Results:

Plasmid carriage significantly limited bacteria-phage coevolution, resulting in lower phage resistance in bacteria and reduced infectivity in phages compared to plasmid-free populations.
These effects were not attributable to increased costs of phage resistance mutations associated with plasmid carriage.
The presence of phages and plasmids led to the evolution of high frequencies of mucoid bacterial colonies, which conferred weak partial resistance to the phage.

Conclusions:

Conjugative plasmids can profoundly influence bacteria-phage coevolutionary dynamics.
Plasmid carriage can dampen coevolutionary arms races by altering resistance/infectivity levels and promoting alternative resistance strategies like mucoidy.
The evolutionary consequences of plasmid carriage extend beyond the direct effects of accessory genes, impacting host-microbe interactions and population evolution.