Distribution of bacterial plasmids in clean and polluted sites in a South Wales river

We isolated 400 aerobic heterotrophic bacteria from the sediment of unpolluted and polluted sites in a fast-flowing south Wales river. Isolates were subjected to taxonomic tests and screened for the presence of plasmid DNA by alkaline lysis and agarose gel techniques. There were no significant differences between sites in either the total percentage of isolates containing plasmids (unpolluted site, 9.4%; polluted site, 15%) or in the percentage of non-Pseudomonas-like isolates containing plasmids (unpolluted site, 15%; polluted site, 10%). There were significantly more Pseudomonas-like isolates with plasmids at the polluted site than at the unpolluted site (unpolluted site, 7%; polluted site, 18%). This presumably reflected a response of the nutritionally versatile Pseudomonas-like isolates to conditions at that site. The majority (86%) of the plasmids detected had molecular masses between 35 and 312 megadaltons. These plasmids were large enough to carry genes for conjugal transfer, suggesting the possibility of such transfer in this environment.