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. 1990 May;56(5):1413–1419. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.5.1413-1419.1990

Growth and Survival of Streptomycete Inoculants and Extent of Plasmid Transfer in Sterile and Nonsterile Soil

Elizabeth M H Wellington 1,*, Neil Cresswell 1, Venetia A Saunders 1
PMCID: PMC184420  PMID: 16348192

Abstract

The growth and survival of strains of Streptomyces lividans and S. violaceolatus in sterile and nonsterile soil was investigated by using inoculated soil microcosms run as batch systems. It was evident that, after an initial short mycelial growth phase of 2 to 3 days, sporulation occurred and inoculants survived as spores. The transfer of a high-copy-number, self-transmissible plasmid, pIJ673, was detected by using intra- and interspecific crosses. The initial detection of transconjugants correlated with the development of the mycelial state of the inoculants (as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy) after 2 days of incubation. Subsequent spread of the plasmid was attributed to spread within existing mycelium followed by sporulation. In natural soil, inoculant numbers remained constant or declined, but plasmid transfer was readily detected.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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