scholarly journals The Frequency of Conjugative Transposition of Tn916 Is Not Determined by the Frequency of Excision

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (17) ◽  
pp. 5414-5418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Marra ◽  
Beth Pethel ◽  
Gordon G. Churchward ◽  
June R. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Recipient Cell ◽  
Inducible Promoter ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Conjugative Transposition ◽  
Origin Of Transfer

ABSTRACT Excision and formation of a covalently closed circular transposon molecule are required for conjugative transposition of Tn916 but are not the only factors that limit the frequency of conjugative transposition from one host to another. We found that in gram-positive bacteria, an increase in the frequency of excision and circularization of Tn916 caused by expression of integrase (Int) and excisionase (Xis) from a xylose-inducible promoter does not lead to an increase in the frequency of conjugative transposition. We also found that the concentration of Int and Xis in the recipient cell does not limit the frequency of conjugative transposition and that increased excision does not result in increased expression of transfer functions required to mobilize a plasmid containing the Tn916 origin of transfer. We conclude that in gram-positive hosts in which the Tn916 functions Int and Xis are overexpressed, the frequency of conjugative transposition is limited by the availability of transfer functions.

scholarly journals A Conserved Class II Type Thioester Domain-Containing Adhesin Is Required for Efficient Conjugation in Bacillus subtilis

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
César Gago-Córdoba ◽  
Jorge Val-Calvo ◽  
David Abia ◽  
Alberto Díaz-Talavera ◽  
Andrés Miguel-Arribas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Recipient Cell ◽  
Class Ii ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Conjugative Plasmid ◽  
Mating Pair ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

ABSTRACT Conjugation, the process by which a DNA element is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell, is the main horizontal gene transfer route responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Contact between a donor and a recipient cell is a prerequisite for conjugation, because conjugative DNA is transferred into the recipient via a channel connecting the two cells. Conjugative elements encode proteins dedicated to facilitating the recognition and attachment to recipient cells, also known as mating pair formation. A subgroup of the conjugative elements is able to mediate efficient conjugation during planktonic growth, and mechanisms facilitating mating pair formation will be particularly important in these cases. Conjugative elements of Gram-negative bacteria encode conjugative pili, also known as sex pili, some of which are retractile. Far less is known about mechanisms that promote mating pair formation in Gram-positive bacteria. The conjugative plasmid pLS20 of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis allows efficient conjugation in liquid medium. Here, we report the identification of an adhesin gene in the pLS20 conjugation operon. The N-terminal region of the adhesin contains a class II type thioester domain (TED) that is essential for efficient conjugation, particularly in liquid medium. We show that TED-containing adhesins are widely conserved in Gram-positive bacteria, including pathogens where they often play crucial roles in pathogenesis. Our study is the first to demonstrate the involvement of a class II type TED-containing adhesin in conjugation. IMPORTANCE Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become a serious health care problem. The spread of antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria of the same or different species is often mediated by a process named conjugation, where a donor cell transfers DNA to a recipient cell through a connecting channel. The first step in conjugation is recognition and attachment of the donor to a recipient cell. Little is known about this first step, particularly in Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we show that the conjugative plasmid pLS20 of Bacillus subtilis encodes an adhesin protein that is essential for effective conjugation. This adhesin protein has a structural organization similar to adhesins produced by other Gram-positive bacteria, including major pathogens, where the adhesins serve in attachment to host tissues during colonization and infection. Our findings may thus also open novel avenues to design drugs that inhibit the spread of antibiotic resistance by blocking the first recipient-attachment step in conjugation.

Influence of Cell Wall Composition on the Fossilisation of Bacteria and the Implications for the Search for Early Life Forms

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Westall
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Cation Binding ◽  
Positive Bacterium ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Hydrothermal Sediments ◽  
Identification Of Bacteria ◽  
The Difference

AbstractThe oldest cell-like structures on Earth are preserved in silicified lagoonal, shallow sea or hydrothermal sediments, such as some Archean formations in Western Australia and South Africa. Previous studies concentrated on the search for organic fossils in Archean rocks. Observations of silicified bacteria (as silica minerals) are scarce for both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic, but reports of mineral bacteria finds, in general, are increasing. The problems associated with the identification of authentic fossil bacteria and, if possible, closer identification of bacteria type can, in part, be overcome by experimental fossilisation studies. These have shown that not all bacteria fossilise in the same way and, indeed, some seem to be very resistent to fossilisation. This paper deals with a transmission electron microscope investigation of the silicification of four species of bacteria commonly found in the environment. The Gram positiveBacillus laterosporusand its spore produced a robust, durable crust upon silicification, whereas the Gram negativePseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. vesicularis, andPs. acidovoranspresented delicately preserved walls. The greater amount of peptidoglycan, containing abundant metal cation binding sites, in the cell wall of the Gram positive bacterium, probably accounts for the difference in the mode of fossilisation. The Gram positive bacteria are, therefore, probably most likely to be preserved in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock record.

Microanatomy of the Periplasm of Bacillus Licheniformis

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 262-263
Author(s):  
B.K. Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Bacillus Licheniformis ◽  
External Environment ◽  
Permeability Barrier ◽  
Periplasmic Space ◽  
Modified Technique ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

Periplasm of bacteria is the space outside the permeability barrier of plasma membrane but enclosed by the cell wall. The contents of this special milieu exterior could be regulated by the plasma membrane from the internal, and by the cell wall from the external environment of the cell. Unlike the gram-negative organism, the presence of this space in gram-positive bacteria is still controversial because it cannot be clearly demonstrated. We have shown the importance of some periplasmic bodies in the secretion of penicillinase from Bacillus licheniformis.In negatively stained specimens prepared by a modified technique (Figs. 1 and 2), periplasmic space (PS) contained two kinds of structures: (i) fibrils (F, 100 Å) running perpendicular to the cell wall from the protoplast and (ii) an array of vesicles of various sizes (V), which seem to have evaginated from the protoplast.

Rapid demonstration of septic or infectious arthritis due to Gram-negative bacteria

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 686-687
Author(s):  
Jacob S. Hanker ◽  
Paul R. Gross ◽  
Beverly L. Giammara
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Arthritis ◽  
Blood Cultures ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Infectious Arthritis ◽  
Bacterial Arthritis ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria

Blood cultures are positive in approximately only 50 per cent of the patients with nongonococcal bacterial infectious arthritis and about 20 per cent of those with gonococcal arthritis. But the concept that gram-negative bacteria could be involved even in chronic arthritis is well-supported. Gram stains are more definitive in staphylococcal arthritis caused by gram-positive bacteria than in bacterial arthritis due to gram-negative bacteria. In the latter situation where gram-negative bacilli are the problem, Gram stains are helpful for 50% of the patients; they are only helpful for 25% of the patients, however, where gram-negative gonococci are the problem. In arthritis due to gram-positive Staphylococci. Gramstained smears are positive for 75% of the patients.

Antibacterial activity of magnesium oxide nanoparticles prepared by Calcination method

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaf Ayad Kadhem ◽  
Miaad Hamzah Zghair ◽  
Sarah , Hussam H. Tizkam, Shoeb Alahmad Salih Mahdi ◽  
Hussam H. Tizkam ◽  
Shoeb Alahmad
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Magnesium Oxide ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Agar Disc

magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) were prepared by simple wet chemical method using different calcination temperatures. The prepared NPs were characterized by Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). It demonstrates sharp intensive peak with the increase of crystallinty and increase of the size with varying morphologies with respect to increase of calcination temperature. Antibacterial studies were done on gram negative bacteria (E.coli) and gram positive bacteria (S.aureus) by agar disc diffusion method. The zones of inhibitions were found larger for gram positive bacteria than gram negative bacteria, this mean, antibacterial MgO NPs activity more active on gram positive bacteria than gram negative bacteria because of the structural differences. It was found that antibacterial activity of MgO NPs was found it has directly proportional with their concentration.

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