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J Bacteriol. 1994 July; 176(14): 4306-4310

research-article

A statistical analysis of the formation of plasmid-free cells in populations of Escherichia coli.

Department of Microbiology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby.

ABSTRACT

By methods analogous to those used in the classical statistical analysis of bacterial mutation, we have analyzed the formation of plasmid-free cells in populations of Escherichia coli harboring pBR322-derived plasmids. Application of fluctuation tests and papilla analysis suggested that there is a high variance in the probability that a plasmid-containing cell will produce a plasmid-free daughter cell. Apparently a subpopulation of plasmid-containing cells gives rise to progeny that produces plasmid-free cells with a high and unpredictable rate. This finding raises the question of whether plasmid maintenance can be adequately described by the conventional mathematical models.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Ponciano, J. M., De Gelder, L., Top, E. M., Joyce, P. (2007). The Population Biology of Bacterial Plasmids: A Hidden Markov Model Approach. Genetics 176: 957-968 [Abstract] [Full Text]