+1 credit
Video Upload Options
Plasmid Transfer Dynamics
EditPlasmid transfer dynamics is the pattern of plasmid movement and establishment among cells over time. During conjugative transfer, DNA-processing enzymes cleave and rejoin plasmid DNA as part of the transfer reaction; relaxases form a transient covalent linkage to the DNA strand being processed [1]. At the population level, transfer interacts with host growth, plasmid maintenance, and the ecological distribution of compatible recipients [2]. Plasmids can encode their own transfer machinery or use functions supplied by other mobile genetic elements, producing different routes of movement through a community [3]. Donor-recipient recognition provides an additional molecular constraint: variants of the F-like plasmid protein TraN recognize particular recipient outer-membrane proteins [4]. Contact patterns, recognition, DNA transfer, and subsequent persistence jointly shape the observed distribution of plasmid-bearing cells [5].
References
- Michael Chandler; Fernando de la Cruz; Fred Dyda; Alison B. Hickman; Gabriel Moncalian; Bao Ton-Hoang; Breaking and joining single-stranded DNA: the HUH endonuclease superfamily. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 2013, 11, 525-538. [CrossRef]
- Holger Heuer; Kornelia Smalla; Plasmids foster diversification and adaptation of bacterial populations in soil. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 2012, 36, 1083-1104. [CrossRef]
- Maria Pilar Garcillán-Barcia; Fernando de la Cruz; Eduardo P C Rocha; The extended mobility of plasmids. Nucleic Acids Res. 2025, 53, gkaf652. [CrossRef]
- Gad Frankel; Sophia David; Wen Wen Low; Chloe Seddon; Joshua L C Wong; Konstantinos Beis; Plasmids pick a bacterial partner before committing to conjugation. Nucleic Acids Res. 2023, 51, 8925-8933. [CrossRef]
- Nathan Fraikin; Agathe Couturier; Christian Lesterlin; The winding journey of conjugative plasmids toward a novel host cell. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 2024, 78, 102449. [CrossRef]
