Generalized transduction of small Yersinia enterocolitica plasmids.
To study phage-mediated gene transfer in Yersinia, the ability of Yersinia phages to transduce naturally occurring plasmids was investigated. The transduction experiments were performed with a temperate phage isolated from a pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica strain and phage mixtures isolated from sewage. Small plasmids (4.3 and 5.8 kb) were transduced at a frequency of 10(-5) to 10(-7)/PFU. However, we could not detect the transduction of any indigenous virulence plasmid (ca. 72 kb) in pathogenic Yersinia strains. Transductants obtained by infection with the temperate phage were lysogenic and harbored the phage genome in their chromosomes.
Hertwig
S
S
Department of Biological Safety, Robert Koch-Institut, D-13353 Berlin, Germany. Hertwigs@rki.de
Popp
A
A
Freytag
B
B
Lurz
R
R
Appel
B
B
D000818:Animals; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008242:Lysogeny; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D012722:Sewage / Q000821:virology; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D015007:Yersinia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D015008:Yersinia enterocolitica / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012722:Sewage