Addendum

Mobilizable bacterial DNA packaged into membrane vesicles induces serial transduction.

Volume 1, Issue 1   May/June 2011
Pages 80 - 81
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/mge.1.1.15724
Authors: Branko Velimirov and Sylvia Hagemann

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Abstract:
Experiments where the amino acid deficient strain E.coli AB1157 was exposed to a particle fraction harvested from a marine oligotrophic environment, ranging in diameter size between 100-130 nm indicated evidence for horizontal gene transfer resulting in revertant cells with restoration of all genetic deficiencies with frequencies up to 1.94 x 10-5. None of the markers was preferentially transferred indicating that the DNA-transfer is performed by generalized transduction. The highest transfer frequency obtained for single markers was 1.04 x 10-2. All revertant strains were able to produce particles of comparable size that were again infectious, appearing at the beginning of the stationary phase. Ultra structural investigation showed a structural resemblance with membrane vesicles, however, Field Gel Electrophoresis indicated that the DNA content of some of the particles was 370 kbp; much higher than that of the so far known previously described membrane vesicles providing evidence of a new mechanism for horizontal gene transfer.

Addendum to:
HX Chiura, K Kogure, S Hagemann, A Ellinger, B Velimirov. Evidence for particle-induced horizontal gene transfer and serial transduction between bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2011; 76: 576-91
PMID: 21361998 DOI: 10.1111/j 1574-6941.

Received: March 31, 2011; Accepted: April 5, 2011

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