title: The ability of soil bacteria to receive the conjugative IncP1 plasmid, pKJK10, is different in a mixed community compared to single strains.
abstract: Horizontal gene transfer by conjugation is common among bacterial populations in soil. It is well known that the host range of plasmids depends on several factors, including the identity of the plasmid host cell. In the present study, however, we demonstrate that the composition of the recipient community is also determining for the dissemination of a conjugative plasmid. We isolated 15 different bacterial strains from soil and assessed the conjugation frequencies of the IncP1 plasmid, pKJK10, by flow cytometry, from two different donors, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida, to either 15 different bacterial strains or to the mixed community composed of all the 15 strains. We detected transfer of pKJK10 from P. putida to Stenotrophomonas rhizophila in a diparental mating, but no transfer was observed to the mixed community. In contrast, for E. coli, transfer was observed only to the mixed community, where Ochrobactrum rhizosphaerae was identified as the dominating plasmid recipient. Our results indicate that the presence of a bacterial community impacts the plasmid permissiveness by affecting the ability of strains to receive the conjugative plasmid.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Claudia I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: de la Cruz-Perera
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Marine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanchet
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dendooven
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marsch
authors.forename: Søren J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burmølle
mesh_terms: D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D042041:Ochrobactrum / Q000235:genetics; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D016958:Pseudomonas putida / Q000235:genetics; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial