Mobilizable bacterial DNA packaged into membrane vesicles induces serial transduction

Abstract

Experiments where the amino acid deficient strain E. coli AB1157 was exposed to a particle fraction harvested from a marine oligotrophic environment, ranging in diameter size between 100–130 nm indicated evidence for horizontal gene transfer resulting in revertant cells with restoration of all genetic deficiencies with frequencies up to 1.94 × 10−5. None of the markers was preferentially transferred indicating that the DNA-transfer is performed by generalized transduction. The highest transfer frequency obtained for single markers was 1.04 × 10−2. All revertant strains were able to produce particles of comparable size that were again infectious, appearing at the beginning of the stationary phase. Ultra structural investigation showed a structural resemblance with membrane vesicles, however, Field Gel Electrophoresis indicated that the DNA content of some of the particles was 370 kbp; much higher than that of the so far known previously described membrane vesicles providing evidence of a new mechanism for horizontal gene transfer

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