Plasmid R394 is a cointegrate.
Plasmids R394a and R394b which cointegrate to form R394 are described. They have molecular masses of 102 +/- 4 and 11.0 +/- 0.4 MDal, belong to the T and N incompatibility groups and confer resistance to kanamycin and ampicillin, respectively. R394a is self transmissible and mobilizes R394b, which is non-self transmissible. These findings clarify anomalies in the behaviour of R394 and support suggestions based on the properties of variant phages derived from R394.
D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D011815:R Factors; D013604:T-Phages / Q000235:genetics; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial
D004269:DNA, Bacterial