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Self-Transfer and Genetic Recombination Mediated by P, the Sex Factor of Vibrio cholerae

Department of Bacteriology and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024

ABSTRACT

Vibrio cholerae cells, infected with the sex factor P, produce discrete, plaque-like clearings when plated on lawns of P^– cells. We investigated the nature of these clearings and conclude that they are probably sites of active mating. We developed a quantitative assay for P⁺ cells and used it to study the kinetics of sex factor spread in broth cultures. Both established and newly infected donor populations were efficient sex factor donors, indicating that P is not self-repressed. We also investigated the kinetics of recombinant formation in broth matings. In 1-hr matings, we routinely found recombination frequencies of 10^–6 per donor cell. Kinetic studies of recombinant formation showed that the markers tested all appeared at early times. Thus P, the V. cholerae sex factor, seems to resemble F in its transfer properties.

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