Abstract
The conjugative plasmid pAD1 (56.7 kilobases) in Streptococcus faecalis has been shown to confer a mating response to the sex pheromone cAD1 excreted by recipient strains. The response is characterized by the synthesis of a proteinaceous adhesin which coats the surface of the pAD1 -containing donor cell and facilitates the formation of mating aggregates. Donors exposed to cAD1 -containing filtrates of recipients undergo self-aggregation (clumping), an event believed to be associated with an interaction between the adhesin and a binding substance always present on the surface of both recipients and donors. To analyze the molecular processes involved in the mating response, mutants were generated by the erythromycin resistance transposon Tn917 . Transpositions to pAD1 in S. faecalis DS16 gave rise to a number of derivatives that exhibited "constitutive clumping" and the ability to transfer at high frequencies in short (10-min) matings. These mutants fell into two subclasses, which exhibited colony morphologies that were "dry" or "normal". The Tn917 insertions were mapped by restriction enzyme analysis to two separate clusters, designated traA and traB. The dry colony subclass corresponded to traA and represented a span of 1.5 kilobases, whereas the normal subclass corresponded to traB and spanned 1.3 kilobases. The two clusters were separated by 1.7 kilobases in which insertions of Tn917 did not affect the ability to respond normally to cAD1 . Neither type of constitutive clumper produced cAD1 . Another series of insertions exhibited reduced donor potential. In two cases, the reduction in transfer was three to four orders of magnitude; these mapped in traA . In two other cases, the reduction was one to two orders of magnitude. These mapped outside of traA and traB, and one was associated with an increase in plasmid copy number.
Full text
PDF






Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Clewell D. B., Brown B. L. Sex pheromone cAD1 in Streptococcus faecalis: induction of a function related to plasmid transfer. J Bacteriol. 1980 Aug;143(2):1063–1065. doi: 10.1128/jb.143.2.1063-1065.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Clewell D. B., Helinski D. R. Properties of a supercoiled deoxyribonucleic acid-protein relaxation complex and strand specificity of the relaxation event. Biochemistry. 1970 Oct 27;9(22):4428–4440. doi: 10.1021/bi00824a026. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Clewell D. B. Nature of Col E 1 plasmid replication in Escherichia coli in the presence of the chloramphenicol. J Bacteriol. 1972 May;110(2):667–676. doi: 10.1128/jb.110.2.667-676.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Clewell D. B. Plasmids, drug resistance, and gene transfer in the genus Streptococcus. Microbiol Rev. 1981 Sep;45(3):409–436. doi: 10.1128/mr.45.3.409-436.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Clewell D. B., Tomich P. K., Gawron-Burke M. C., Franke A. E., Yagi Y., An F. Y. Mapping of Streptococcus faecalis plasmids pAD1 and pAD2 and studies relating to transposition of Tn917. J Bacteriol. 1982 Dec;152(3):1220–1230. doi: 10.1128/jb.152.3.1220-1230.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Clewell D. B., Yagi Y., Dunny G. M., Schultz S. K. Characterization of three plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid molecules in a strain of Streptococcus faecalis: identification of a plasmid determining erythromycin resistance. J Bacteriol. 1974 Jan;117(1):283–289. doi: 10.1128/jb.117.1.283-289.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dunny G. M., Brown B. L., Clewell D. B. Induced cell aggregation and mating in Streptococcus faecalis: evidence for a bacterial sex pheromone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Jul;75(7):3479–3483. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.7.3479. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dunny G. M., Craig R. A., Carron R. L., Clewell D. B. Plasmid transfer in Streptococcus faecalis: production of multiple sex pheromones by recipients. Plasmid. 1979 Jul;2(3):454–465. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(79)90029-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dunny G., Funk C., Adsit J. Direct stimulation of the transfer of antibiotic resistance by sex pheromones in Streptococcus faecalis. Plasmid. 1981 Nov;6(3):270–278. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(81)90035-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dunny G., Yuhasz M., Ehrenfeld E. Genetic and physiological analysis of conjugation in Streptococcus faecalis. J Bacteriol. 1982 Aug;151(2):855–859. doi: 10.1128/jb.151.2.855-859.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Franke A. E., Clewell D. B. Evidence for a chromosome-borne resistance transposon (Tn916) in Streptococcus faecalis that is capable of "conjugal" transfer in the absence of a conjugative plasmid. J Bacteriol. 1981 Jan;145(1):494–502. doi: 10.1128/jb.145.1.494-502.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Gawron-Burke C., Clewell D. B. A transposon in Streptococcus faecalis with fertility properties. Nature. 1982 Nov 18;300(5889):281–284. doi: 10.1038/300281a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ike Y., Craig R. A., White B. A., Yagi Y., Clewell D. B. Modification of Streptococcus faecalis sex pheromones after acquisition of plasmid DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Sep;80(17):5369–5373. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.17.5369. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jacob A. E., Hobbs S. J. Conjugal transfer of plasmid-borne multiple antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus faecalis var. zymogenes. J Bacteriol. 1974 Feb;117(2):360–372. doi: 10.1128/jb.117.2.360-372.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kessler R. E., Yagi Y. Identification and partial characterization of a pheromone-induced adhesive surface antigen of Streptococcus faecalis. J Bacteriol. 1983 Aug;155(2):714–721. doi: 10.1128/jb.155.2.714-721.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LeBlanc D. J., Lee L. N., Clewell D. B., Behnke D. Broad geographical distribution of a cytotoxin gene mediating beta-hemolysis and bacteriocin activity among Streptococcus faecalis strains. Infect Immun. 1983 Jun;40(3):1015–1022. doi: 10.1128/iai.40.3.1015-1022.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Oliver D. R., Brown B. L., Clewell D. B. Analysis of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid in a cariogenic strain of Streptococcus faecalis: an approach to identifying genetic determinants on cryptic plasmids. J Bacteriol. 1977 May;130(2):759–765. doi: 10.1128/jb.130.2.759-765.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tomich P. K., An F. Y., Clewell D. B. A transposon (Tn917) in Streptococcus faecalis that exhibits enhanced transposition during induction of drug resistance. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1979;43(Pt 2):1217–1221. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1979.043.01.138. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tomich P. K., An F. Y., Clewell D. B. Properties of erythromycin-inducible transposon Tn917 in Streptococcus faecalis. J Bacteriol. 1980 Mar;141(3):1366–1374. doi: 10.1128/jb.141.3.1366-1374.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tomich P. K., An F. Y., Damle S. P., Clewell D. B. Plasmid-related transmissibility and multiple drug resistance in Streptococcus faecalis subsp. zymogenes strain DS16. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 Jun;15(6):828–830. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.6.828. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Yagi Y., Kessler R. E., Shaw J. H., Lopatin D. E., An F., Clewell D. B. Plasmid content of Streptococcus faecalis strain 39-5 and identification of a pheromone (cPD1)-induced surface antigen. J Gen Microbiol. 1983 Apr;129(4):1207–1215. doi: 10.1099/00221287-129-4-1207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Youngman P. J., Perkins J. B., Losick R. Genetic transposition and insertional mutagenesis in Bacillus subtilis with Streptococcus faecalis transposon Tn917. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Apr;80(8):2305–2309. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.8.2305. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]