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. 1978 Sep;135(3):760–765. doi: 10.1128/jb.135.3.760-765.1978

Copy numbers of coexisting plasmids in Escherichia coli K-12.

P T Barth, H Richards, N Datta
PMCID: PMC222445  PMID: 357423

Abstract

A strain of Escherichia coli K-12 carrying eight compatible and distinguishable plasmids was constructed. The amounts of plasmid DNA (measured as supercoiled molecules) per chromosome in this strain was about equal to the sum of the plasmid DNAs, extracted under controlled conditions, from strains each carrying one of the eight plasmids. Analysis of these DNA preparations showed that each plasmid in the multiplasmid strain was present in the same proportion per chromosome as in the single-plasmid strains. Also the level of phenotypic expression of each plasmid in the multiplasmid strain was the same as in the single-plasmid strains. Each plasmid, therefore, appears to control its own copy number irrespective of the presence of other compatible plasmids.

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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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