6533b85afe1ef96bd12b971c
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Conjugation is necessary for a bacterial plasmid to survive under protozoan predation
Michael A. BrockhurstMatti JalasvuoriVille OjalaTeppo HiltunenJohannes Cairnssubject
0106 biological sciences0301 basic medicineFood ChainMutant010603 evolutionary biology01 natural sciencesRP4 plasmidPredationMicrobiologyTetrahymena thermophila03 medical and health sciencesPlasmidAntibiotic resistanceevolution of antibiotic resistance/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100PathogenSerratia marcescens/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1101Evolutionary BiologybiologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences(all)Conjugationta1183ta1182biology.organism_classificationAgricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)Protozoan predation030104 developmental biologyprotozoan predationConjugation GeneticSerratia marcescensHorizontal gene transferta1181Evolution of antibiotic resistanceGeneral Agricultural and Biological SciencesBacteriaconjugationPlasmidsdescription
Horizontal gene transfer by conjugative plasmids plays a critical role in the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Interactions between bacteria and other organisms can affect the persistence and spread of conjugative plasmids. Here we show that protozoan predation increased the persistence and spread of the antibiotic resistance plasmid RP4 in populations of the opportunist bacterial pathogenSerratia marcescens. A conjugation-defective mutant plasmid was unable to survive under predation, suggesting that conjugative transfer is required for plasmid persistence under the realistic condition of predation. These results indicate that multi-trophic interactions can affect the maintenance of conjugative plasmids with implications for bacterial evolution and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-01 |