Broad host range gene transfer: plasmids and conjugative transposons

Abstract Conjugation is the primary route of broad host range DNA transfer between different genera of bacteria. Plasmids are the most familiar conjugative elements, but there are also self-transmissible integrated elements called conjugative transposons. Conjugative transposons have been found in many genera of gram-positive bacteria, in mycoplasmas and in gram negative bacteria such as Bacteriodes spp. and Moraxella spp., and they have a very broad host range. The best-studied conjugative transposons are: the ones related to Tn 916 , a 16 kb conjugative transposon found originally in Gram-positive bacteria; Tn 5276 , a 70 kb conjugative transposon from Lactococcus lactis ; and a group of large (> 70 kb) conjugative transposons found in Bacteroides spp. Transfer of conjugative transposons takes place in three steps: excision to form a circular intermediate, transfer of one strand of the circular intermediate to a recipient, and integration into the recipient genome. Some conjugative transposons integrate almost randomly, whereas other integrate site-specifically. Conjugative transposons not only transfer themselves but also mobilize co-resident plasmids, either by providing transfer functions in trans or by inserting themselves into the plasmid. In addition, the conjugative transposons found in Bacteroides spp. can excise and mobilize unlinked integrated elements, called NBUs. Transfer of many of the Bacteroides conjugative transposons is regulated by tetracycline, whereas transfer of Tn 916 and other conjugative transposons appears to be constitutive. The conjugative transposons are clearly widespread in clinical isolates, but their distribution in environmental isolates remains to be determined.     

Narrow host range of some streptococcal R plasmids

Nine R plasmids originally harbored by Streptococcus faecalis (pIP614, pIP655, pIP685, pIP686, pIP 1075, pIP1017),S. faecium (pIP716, pIP991), and group B Streptococcus (pMV120) wild-type hosts were transferred by conjugation into various recipients in order to study the extent of their intraspecies, interspecies, and intergeneric host range. Recipients were streptococci of groups A, B, C, D (S. faecalis, S. faecium, S. durans, S. bovis), and G, S. sanguis, two S. pneumoniae strains (encapsulated and nonencapsulated), and two strains of different genera, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria inocua. The plasmids carried different antibiotic resistance markers: tetracycline, high levels of gentamicin and kanamycin or of streptomycin and kanamycin, and chloramphenicol. These R plasmids displayed narrow host ranges. They transferred into S. faecalis recipients and plasmid DNA could be detected in these transconjugants. Occasionally, the R plasmids also transferred into one or more other recipients, but no detectable plasmid DNA could be demonstrated in the new hosts.     

Integration host factor and conjugative transfer of the antibiotic resistance plasmid R100.

Transfer of plasmid R100-1 was reduced 100-fold in the absence of integration host factor.     

一株红球菌(Rhodococcus sp.)二噁英降解质粒的稳定性与接合转移特性

【目的】考察一株红球菌Rhodococcus sp.strain p52中的二噁英降解质粒pDF01(170 kb)和pDF02(242 kb)的稳定性和接合转移特性。【方法】在无选择压力的条件下对菌株p52进行连续传代培养,考察质粒pDF01、pDF02的丢失;以菌株p52为供体菌,以不同种属的菌株作受体菌,通过平板接合实验探讨质粒pDF01、pDF02接合转移的受体菌范围以及接合转移频率,利用菌落杂交、Southern杂交对质粒转移结果进行确认,利用降解实验测试转移质粒降解基因的表达。【结果】质粒pDF01和pDF02在红球菌p52中均具有较高的稳定性,在LB培养基上连续传代少于47次时pDF02可保持,连续传代少于65次时pDF01可保持。质粒pDF01和pDF02具备在同属和属间接合转移的能力,可向受体菌——紫红红球菌(Rhodococcus rhodochrous)、红串红球菌(Rhodococcus erythropolis)、大地两面神菌(Terrabacter tumescens)和节杆菌(Arthrobacter sp.)转移,其中以节杆菌作受体菌时质粒pDF01和pDF02接合转移频率最高,达到3.5×10~(-6)(接合子/受体菌);对节杆菌接合子质粒进行Southern杂交进一步确认了质粒pDF01、pDF02的存在。另外获得质粒pDF01、pDF02后的节杆菌接合子可以对二苯并呋喃高效利用,且降解能力与红球菌供体菌株p52相当。【结论】红球菌菌株p52可通过降解质粒转移强化生物修复过程,在去除环境中二噁英污染中具有良好的应用前景。     

Genetic transformation of Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426 by conjugative transfer of host-mimicking plasmids

We established an efficient transformation method for thermophile Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426 using conjugative transfer from Escherichia coli of host-mimicking plasmids that imitate DNA methylation of strain HTA426 to circumvent its DNA restriction barriers. Two conjugative plasmids, pSTE33T and pUCG18T, capable of shuttling between E. coli and Geobacillus spp., were constructed. The plasmids were first introduced into E. coli BR408, which expressed one inherent DNA methylase gene (dam) and two heterologous methylase genes from strain HTA426 (GK1380-GK1381 and GK0343-GK0344). The plasmids were then directly transferred from E. coli cells to strain HTA426 by conjugative transfer using pUB307 or pRK2013 as a helper plasmid. pUCG18T was introduced very efficiently (transfer efficiency, 10(-5)-10(-3) recipient(-1)). pSTE33T showed lower efficiency (10(-7)-10(-6) recipient(-1)) but had a high copy number and high segregational stability. Methylase genes in the donor substantially affected the transfer efficiency, demonstrating that the host-mimicking strategy contributes to efficient transformation. The transformation method, along with the two distinguishing plasmids, increases the potential of G. kaustophilus HTA426 as a thermophilic host to be used in various applications and as a model for biological studies of this genus. Our results also demonstrate that conjugative transfer is a promising approach for introducing exogenous DNA into thermophiles.     

Integration of temperature-sensitive nonconjugative plasmid carrying kanamycin gene into conjugative R plasmids.

A nonconjugative R plasmid, rMS3, whose molecular weight was 2.4 X 10(7) daltons, possessed a kanamycin resistance gene and was thermosensitive in its maintenance in Escherichia coli strains. We mobilized rMS3 with a conjugative R plasmid, R100 or T-tet, and obtained cointegrates carrying all the parental resistance markers. Various markers of the cointegrates were frequently deleted by P1 transduction and the deletion patterns among the different cointegrates were differed from each other. The cointegrates were thermoresistant, but the thermosensitive replicon could be segregated from the thermoresistant cointegrate by deletion. Some cointegrates between rMS3 and T-tet showed a derepressed state of transferability because of the integration of rMS3 and T-tet showed a derepressed state of transferability because of the integration of rMS3 into the regulator gene of the transfer loci. The genome size of the cointegrate so far tested was the sum of the sizes of the parental plasmids, indicating that the whole genome of rMS3 could integrate into various sites of the conjugative plasmids R100 and T-tet.     

Limited host range Ti plasmids: recent origin from wide host range Ti plasmids and involvement of a novel IS element, IS868.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens biotype III octopine strains have been isolated from grapevine tumors worldwide. They comprise limited and wide host range (LHR and WHR) strains that carry related tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmids with two T-regions, TA and TB. The WHR TA-region resembles the biotype I octopine region, whereas the LHR TA-region is a recent deletion derivative of the WHR TA-region, which lacks the iaa genes and part of the ipt gene. Sequencing of the TA-region of the ubiquitous LHR strain AB3 showed that the deleted region is replaced by an insertion sequence (IS) element, IS868, which resembles the IS51 element of Pseudomonas syringae subsp. savastanoi. The Ti plasmid of LHR strain Ag57 carries essentially the same iaa gene deletion as pTiAB3, but lacks IS868. We propose that the LHR Ti plasmids arose by the recent insertion of an IS868 element into the TA-region of a WHR-type Ti plasmid, followed by transposition to a nearby site. The deletion was caused during the second transposition or by later recombination between the two IS868 copies. Biotype III octopine strains also carry an IS51-like sequence close to the TB iaa genes. Our results confirm and extend earlier observations indicating that IS51-like elements in Pseudomonas and Agrobacterium are associated with iaa genes and played a major role in Ti plasmid evolution.     

Factors affecting conjugative transfer rates of plasmids in batch and continuous cultures

Factors affecting the rates of plasmid transfer were investigated using Escherichia coli LC102 bearing a conjugative plasmid R100-1 and E. coli DH1. The rate constant of transconjugant increase, k_ti, was used for presenting the degree of plasmid transmissibility instead of the plasmid transfer efficiency (pte). The rate constant was defined as the specific rate of transconjugant increase (srti, the number of transconjugants per donor per h) divided by the recipient cell concentration. The k_ti values ranged between 10⁻¹⁰ and 10⁻¹⁵ ml cells⁻¹ h⁻¹, when estimated under various conditions. Moderate liquid agitation had a favorable effect on k_tf but agitation rates higher than 33 s⁻¹ (intergrated shear force) greatly decreased the value of k_ti. The transconjugant-forming activity of the cells growing in continuous culture did not significantly change with the dilution rate, except those growing at dilution rates less than 0.1 h⁻¹. The rate constant k_ti at temperatures of 10–15°C was as low as the detection limit (10⁻¹⁵ ml cells⁻¹ h⁻¹).     

Conjugational transfer of recombinant DNA in cultures and in soils: host range of Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmids.

Recombinant TOL plasmid pWWO-EB62 allows Pseudomonas putida to grow on p-ethylbenzoate. This plasmid can be transferred to other microorganisms, and its catabolic functions for the metabolism of alkylbenzoates are expressed in a limited number of gram-negative bacteria, including members of pseudomonad rRNA group I and Escherichia coli. Transfer of the recombinant plasmid to Erwinia chrysanthemi was observed, but transconjugants failed to grow on alkylbenzoates because they lost catabolic functions. Pseudomonads belonging to rRNA groups II, III, and IV, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Alcaligenes sp. could not act as recipients for TOL, either because the plasmid was not transferred or because it was not stably maintained. The frequency of transfer of pWWO-EB62 from P. putida as a donor to pseudomonads belonging to rRNA group I was on the order of 1 to 10(-2) transconjugant per recipient, while the frequency of intergeneric transfer ranged from 10(-3) to 10(-7) transconjugant per recipient. The profile of potential hosts was conserved when the donor bacterium was Escherichia coli or Erwinia chrysanthemi instead of P. putida. No intergeneric gene transfer of the recombinant TOL plasmid was observed in soils; however, intraspecies transfer did take place. Intraspecies transfer of TOL in soils was affected by the type of soil used, the initial inoculum size, and the presence of chemicals that could affect the survival of the donor or recipient bacteria.     

Conjugational transfer of recombinant DNA in cultures and in soils: host range of Pseudomonas putida TOL plasmids.

Recombinant TOL plasmid pWWO-EB62 allows Pseudomonas putida to grow on p-ethylbenzoate. This plasmid can be transferred to other microorganisms, and its catabolic functions for the metabolism of alkylbenzoates are expressed in a limited number of gram-negative bacteria, including members of pseudomonad rRNA group I and Escherichia coli. Transfer of the recombinant plasmid to Erwinia chrysanthemi was observed, but transconjugants failed to grow on alkylbenzoates because they lost catabolic functions. Pseudomonads belonging to rRNA groups II, III, and IV, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Alcaligenes sp. could not act as recipients for TOL, either because the plasmid was not transferred or because it was not stably maintained. The frequency of transfer of pWWO-EB62 from P. putida as a donor to pseudomonads belonging to rRNA group I was on the order of 1 to 10(-2) transconjugant per recipient, while the frequency of intergeneric transfer ranged from 10(-3) to 10(-7) transconjugant per recipient. The profile of potential hosts was conserved when the donor bacterium was Escherichia coli or Erwinia chrysanthemi instead of P. putida. No intergeneric gene transfer of the recombinant TOL plasmid was observed in soils; however, intraspecies transfer did take place. Intraspecies transfer of TOL in soils was affected by the type of soil used, the initial inoculum size, and the presence of chemicals that could affect the survival of the donor or recipient bacteria.     

Inhibition of conjugal transfer of R plasmids by nitrofurans

Nifurzide is a nitrofuran with antibacterial activity. As nitrofurans have been reported to interact with DNA, we tested the ability of nifurzide to inhibit plasmid transfer. Inhibition of plasmid transfer between Escherichia coli strains was obtained for ten plasmids belonging to nine incompatibility groups. The same effect was observed when plasmid RP4 was harboured in six different members of the Enterobacteriaceae. Inhibition depended on the reduction of the -NO2 group of nifurzide and was obtained with four other nitrofuran derivatives.     

Partial suppression of the phenotype of Escherichia coli K-12 dnaG mutants by some I-like conjugative plasmids.

Three I-like conjugative plasmids, ColIdrd1, R144drd3, and R64drd11, which are derepressed for functions involved in conjugation, were found to suppress at least partially the phenotype of temperature-sensitive dnaG mutants of Escherichia coli K-12, as judged from the kinetics of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis at elevated temperature in newly formed and established plasmid-containing strains. In contrast, the corresponding wild-type plasmids and three F-like derepressed conjugative plasmids, F101, R100drd1, and R1drd16, all failed to suppress. Suppression is presumably caused by a different plasmid-determined function from that which promotes survival of ultraviolet-irradiated bacteria, because both the wild-type I-like plasmids and their drd mutants protected irradiated bacteria. One possible interpretation of these results is that the product of a gene carried by certain I-like plasmids can substitute for the bacterial dnaG gene product during ongoing deoxyribonucleic acid replication.     

Mobilization for transfer of the nonconjugative plasmid pAP/57Hly by different conjugative plasmids

The ability for mobilization of E. coli pAP57Hly nonconjugative plasmid which codes for beta-hemolysis production was investigated. It was shown that mobilization of pAP57Hly nonconjugative plasmid does not depend on the incompatibility groups, pili nature, host range of transmissible activity of conjugative plasmids. The data obtained exclude the mechanism of mobilization in which the cointegrative structures are formed.     

Indigenous plasmids in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato: conjugative transfer and role in copper resistance

Twenty strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato were examined for the presence of plasmid DNA. P. syringae pv. tomato plasmids were grouped into five size classes: class A ranged from 95 to 103 kilobases (kb); class B ranged from 71 to 83 kb; class C ranged from 59 to 67 kb; class D ranged from 37 to 39 kb; and class E was 29 kb. All strains contained at least two plasmids in classes A and B. The conjugative ability of P. syringae pv. tomato plasmids in three strains was demonstrated by mobilization of the nonconjugative plasmid RSF1010 into Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae recipients. Plasmids from the three conjugative strains were labeled with Tn5. Four conjugative plasmids were identified by their repeated transfer to P. syringae pv. syringae recipients. P. syringae pv. tomato strains varied in sensitivity to copper sulfate (CuSO4): MICs were 0.4 to 0.6 mM for sensitive strains, 1.2 mM for moderately resistant strains, and 1.6 to 2.0 mM for very resistant strains. One very resistant strain, PT23, functioned as a donor of copper resistance. Recipient P. syringae pv. syringae strains PS51 and PS61 were inhibited by 0.1 mM CuSO4, whereas the CuSO4 MICs for transconjugant strains PS51(pPT23A) and PS61(pPT23C) were 1.8 and 2.6 mM, respectively. P. syringae pv. tomato strains PT12.2 and PT17.2 were inhibited by 0.6 mM copper sulfate, but their copper sulfate MICs were 2.6 and 1.8 mM, respectively, when they acquired pPT23C. Therefore, copper resistance in PT23 was controlled by two conjugative plasmids, designated pPT23A (101 kb) and pPT23C (67 kb).     

Conjugational transfer systems of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata mediated by R plasmids

Plasmids RP1, R68.45 and RP4::Mu cts 61 were transferred into Rhodopseudomonas capsulata from Escherichia coli. The frequency of intraspecies transfer of these plasmids in R. capsulata was 10^-4–10^-5 per donor. The plasmids also mobilized chromosomal genes at a low frequency. Phototrophic recombinants from matings between recipient strains defective in the photosynthetic-apparatus and wild type donors were obtained at a frequency of 10^-7–10^-8 per donor.     

Inhibition and facilitation of transfer among Pseudomonas aeruginos R plasmids.

Esamining 12 plasmids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we found two types of interaction in their transfer (inhibition and facilitation), using donor cells carrying two compatible plasmids. (i) Ten plasmids representing incompatibility groups P-1, P-2, P-5, P-6, and P-7 were all transmissible at a high frequency, 10-2 to 10-1, except for one with a lower frequency of about 10-3. The transfer of P-5 plasmids was inhibited by P-2 plasmids reciprocally or unilaterally, and the unilateral transfer inhibition was observed in other combinations between plasmids belonging to groups P-1, P-2, P-6, and P-7. It was characteristic of Pseudomonas plasmids that most plasmids with high transferability inhibited the transfer of other coexisting plasmids without distinct inhibition of their own transfer. (ii) Two plasmids, Rms149 of P-8 group and Rlb679, which was not classified, were transmissible at an exceptionally low frequency of 10-7 to 10-6, but their transfer was facilitated by plasmids with high transferability.