Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-9-24
pubmed:abstractText
The genus Mycobacterium includes the major human pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae. The development of rational drug treatments for the diseases caused by these and other mycobacteria requires the establishment of basic molecular techniques to determine the genetic basis of pathogenesis and drug resistance. To date, the ability to manipulate and move DNA between mycobacterial strains has relied on the processes of transformation and transduction. Here, we describe a naturally occurring conjugation system present in Mycobacterium smegmatis, which we anticipate will further facilitate the ability to manipulate the mycobacterial genome. Our data rule out transduction and transformation as possible mechanisms of gene transfer in this system and are most consistent with conjugal transfer. We show that recombinants are not the result of cell fusion and that transfer occurs from a distinct donor to a recipient. One of the donor strains is mc(2)155, a highly transformable derivative that is considered the prototype laboratory strain for mycobacterial genetics; the demonstration that it is conjugative should increase its genetic manipulability dramatically. During conjugation, extensive regions of chromosomal DNA are transferred into the recipient and then integrated into the recipient chromosome by multiple recombination events. We propose that DNA transfer is occurring by a mechanism similar to Hfr conjugation in Escherichia coli.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0950-382X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
28
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
571-82
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1998
pubmed:articleTitle
Conjugal transfer of chromosomal DNA in Mycobacterium smegmatis.
pubmed:affiliation
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, David Axelrod Institute, 12201-2002, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't