This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lorenzo-Díaz, F.
Right arrow Articles by Espinosa, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lorenzo-Díaz, F.
Right arrow Articles by Espinosa, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2009, p. 720-727, Vol. 191, No. 3
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01257-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Lagging-Strand DNA Replication Origins Are Required for Conjugal Transfer of the Promiscuous Plasmid pMV158{triangledown}

Fabián Lorenzo-Díaz and Manuel Espinosa*

Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, E-28040 Madrid, Spain

Received 8 September 2008/ Accepted 9 November 2008

The promiscuous streptococcal plasmid pMV158 is mobilizable by auxiliary plasmids and replicates by the rolling-circle mechanism in a variety of bacterial hosts. The plasmid has two lagging-strand origins, ssoA and ssoU, involved in the conversion of single-stranded DNA intermediates into double-stranded plasmid DNA during vegetative replication. Transfer of the plasmid also would involve conversion of single-stranded DNA molecules into double-stranded plasmid forms in the recipient cells by conjugative replication. To test whether lagging-strand origins played a role in horizontal transfer, pMV158 derivatives defective in one or in both sso's were constructed and tested for their ability to colonize new hosts by means of intra- and interspecies mobilization. Whereas either sso supported transfer between strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, only plasmids that had an intact ssoU could be efficiently mobilized from S. pneumoniae to Enterococcus faecalis. Thus, it appears that ssoU is a critical factor for pMV158 promiscuity and that the presence of a functional sso plays an essential role in plasmid transfer.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Protein Science, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, E-28040 Madrid, Spain. Phone: (34) 918373112. Fax: (34) 915360432. E-mail: mespinosa{at}cib.csic.es

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 21 November 2008.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2009, p. 720-727, Vol. 191, No. 3
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01257-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»