Exogenous isolation of Hgr plasmids from coastal Mediterranean waters and their effect on growth and survival of Escherichia coli in sea water.
Four self-conjugative plasmids conferring mercury resistance were exogenously isolated from coastal Mediterranean sea water. All the plasmids isolated (93.2, 73.1, 65.2 and 221 kb) showed narrow-spectrum mercury resistance, and no UV resistance; three of them conferred cadmium resistance (Cdr 1.5 mM) and two of them encoded streptomycin resistance (50 micrograms/ml). Their influence on the survival of the recipient strain Escherichia coli JGL1 in different seawater media was studied and compared with that of two plasmids previously isolated by the same procedure from an epilithic community of the Bristol Channel, Great Britain. A significant negative influence was observed for the largest (221 kb) of the plasmids isolated and one of the epilithic plasmids (239 kb). The effect of the plasmids on E.coli JGL1 was dependent on the seawater media.
López-Amorós
R
R
Departament de Microbiologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
Vives-Rego
J
J
García-Lara
J
J
D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011815:R Factors / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D013030:Spain; D014852:Wales; D014871:Water Microbiology
D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D002104:Cadmium; D008628:Mercury