Functional characterization of the Bacillus subtilis conjugative plasmid pLS20: identification of relaxosome components and mechanism of transcriptional control of main conjugation promoter Pc

Abstract

Prokaryotes hace the ability to adapt rapidly to changing environmental conditions. A main reason for this is their capacity to interchange genetic material via different routes, collectively named Lateral Gene Transfer (LGT). A major route of LGT is conjugation, wihich is the transfer of a genetic element from a donor cell to a recipient cell via a sophisticated intercelular connecting tuve. Conjugative elements can be present on autonomously replicating plasmids or can be integrated in the bacterial genome. Besides promoting rapid evolutionary changes in bacteria growing in their environmental habitats, conjugation-mediated LGT has major impacts for our society, both positively and negatively. (sacado del informe del Dr. Wilhelmus J. J. Meijer)