Bacterial Conjugation / Edition 1

by D.B. Clewell

Overview

Bacterial plasmids originating in a wide range of genera are being studied from a variety of perspectives in hundreds of laboratories around the globe. These elements are well known for carrying "special" genes that confer important survival properties, frequently neces­ sary under atypical conditions. Classic examples of plasmid-borne genes are those provid­ ing bacterial resistance to toxic substances such as antibiotics, metal ions, and bacte­ riophage. Often included are those determining bacteriocins, which may give the bacterium an advantage in a highly competitive environment. Genes offering metabolic alternatives to the cell under nutritionally stressed conditions are also commonly found on plasmids, as are determinants important to colonization and pathogenesis. It is likely that in many, if not most, cases plasmids and their passenger determinants represent DNA acquired recently by their bacterial hosts, and it is the characteristic mobility of these elements that enables their efficient establishment in new bacterial cells by the process known as conjugation. Whereas many plasmids are fully capable of promoting their own conjugal transfer, others move only with help from coresident elements. The ability of a plasmid to establish itself in a variety of different species is common, and recent studies have shown that transfer can in some cases occur from bacterial cells to eukaryotes such as yeast.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306443763
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	05/31/1993
Series:	Defense Research Series; 4
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1993
Pages:	413
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.03(d)

Table of Contents

1. Bacterial Conjugation: A Historical Perspective.- 2. Genetic Organization of Transfer-Related Determinants on the Sex Factor F and Related Plasmids.- 3. Key Regulatory Aspects of Transfer of F Related Plasmids.- 4. Broad Host Range Conjugative and Mobilizable Plasmids in Gram-Negative Bacteria.- 5. DNA Processing and Replication during Plasmid Transfer between Gram-Negative Bacteria.- 6. Mobilization of Chromosomes and Nonconjugative Plasmids by Cointegrative Mechanisms.- 7. Conjugative Pili and Pilus-Specific Phages.- 8. Plasmid Incompatibility and Replication Control.- 9. Agrobacterium-Mediated Transfer and Stable Incorporation of Foreign Genes in Plants.- 10. Conjugal Transfer of Agrobacterium Plasmids.- 11. Conjugative Plasmids of Streptomyces.- 12. Conjugation and Broad Host Range Plasmids in Strepocci and Staphylococc.- 13. Conjugal Transfer in Anaerobic Bacteria.- 14. Sex Pheromones and the Plasmid-Encoded Mating Response in Enterococcusfaecalis.- 15. The Conjugative Transposons of Gram-Positive Bacteria.

Editorial Reviews

Examines how plasmids that carry genes allowing metabolic alternatives under adverse conditions, move from species to species of bacteria, and sometimes even to eukaryotes such as yeast. The 15 review articles provide scientific, clinical, environmental, and evolutionary perspectives, including genetic organization, regulatory aspects, host range, and detailed studies of particular host species. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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