A Brief History of Plasmids

In the late 1950s, a number of laboratories took up the study of plasmids once the discovery was made that extrachromosomal antibiotic resistance (R) factors are the responsible agents for the transmissibility of multiple antibiotic resistance among the enterobacteria. The use of incompatibility for the classification of plasmids is now widespread. It seems clear now on the basis of the limited studies to date that the number of incompatibility groups of plasmids will likely be extremely large when one includes plasmids obtained from bacteria that are normal inhabitants of poorly studied natural environments. The presence of both linear chromosomes and linear plasmids is now established for several Streptomyces species. One of the more fascinating developments in plasmid biology was the discovery of linear plasmids in the 1980s. A remarkable feature of the Ti plasmids of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the presence of two DNA transfer systems. A definitive demonstration that plasmids consisted of duplex DNA came from interspecies conjugal transfer of plasmids followed by separation of plasmid DNA from chromosomal DNA by equilibrium buoyant density centrifugation. The formation of channels for DNA movement and the actual steps involved in DNA transport offer many opportunities for the discovery of proteins with novel activities and for establishing fundamentally new concepts of macromolecular interactions between DNA and specific proteins, membranes, and the peptidoglycan matrix.

Genetic loci responsible for incompatibility on a co-integrate plasmid, R100-1

An R plasmid, R100-1, was mapped previously (Yoshikawa, 1974) by transduction from an integratively suppressed Hfr strain to a recipient with a mutation in gene dnaA. By this method various types of transductants of plasmid R100-1 that exist autonomously or in the integrated state were obtained. Seventy-one such transductants were used in the present study to map gene inc, which is responsible for incompatibility. The results obtained can be explained by either of the following: (i) R100-1 has only a single gene or gene cluster (inc) despite previous work suggesting that this plasmid is a co-integrate of two replicons; (ii) R100-1 possesses more than one inc locus located between the repA and tra loci.

Transition of R factor NR1 in Proteus mirabilis: molecular structure and replication of NR1 deoxyribonucleic acid

The structure of R factor NR1 DNA in Proteus mirabilis has been studied by using the techniques of CsCl density gradient centrifugation, sedimentation in neutral and alkaline sucrose gradients, and electron microscopy. It has been shown that the nontransitioned form of NR1 DNA isolated from P. mirabilis cultured in drug-free medium is a37-mum circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with a density of 1.712 g/ml in a neutral CsCl gradient. This circular molecule is a composite structure consisting of a 29-mum resistance transfer factor containing the tetracycline-resistance genes (RTF-TC) and an 8-mum r-determinants component conferring resistance to chloramphenicol (CM), streptomycin/spectinomycin, and the sulfonamides. There are one to two copies of NR1 per chromosome equivalent of DNA in exponential-phase cells cultured in Penassay broth. After growth of PM15/NR1 in medium containing 100 mug of CM per ml, the density of the NR1 DNA increased from 1.712 g/ml to approximately 1.718 g/ml and the proportion of NR1 DNA relative to the chromosome is amplified about 10-fold. The changes in R factor DNA structure which accompany this phenomenon (termed the transition) have been studied. DNA density profiles of the transitioned NR1 DNA consist of a 1.718 g/ml band which is skewed toward the less dense side. The transitioned NR1 DNA consists of molecules containing the RTF-TC element attached to multiple copies of r-determinants DNA (poly-r-determinant R factors) and multimeric and monomeric autonomous r-determinants structures. Poly-r-determinant R factors have a density intermediate between the basic composite structure (1.712 g/ml) and r-determinants DNA (1.718 g/ml). These species presumably account for the skewing of the 1.718-g/ml DNA band toward the less dense side. When transitioned cells are subsequently cultured in drug-free medium, poly-r-determinant R factors and autonomous poly-r-determinants undergo dissociation to form smaller structures containing fewer copies of r-determinants. This process continues until, after prolonged growth in drug-free medium the NR1 DNA returns to the nontransitioned state which consists of an RTF-TC and a single copy of r-determinants.

Transition of the R factor NR1 and Proteus mirabilis: level of drug resistance of nontransitioned and transitioned cells

When Proteus mirabilis harboring the R factor NR1 is cultured in Penassay broth containing 100 mug of chloramphenicol (CM) per ml, there is an amplification in the number of copies of the r-determinants per cell. Under these conditions, R factors harboring multiple tandem sequences of r-determinants are formed. Autonomous poly-f-determinants consisting of multiple copies of r-determinants are also formed. This phenomenon has been referred to as the "transition". Transitioned cells have considerably higher levels of resistance to CM and streptomycin (SM), but not to tetracycline (TC), than do nontransitioned cells and grow more rapidly in medium containing either CM or SM. There is essentially no difference in growth rates between transitioned and nontransitioned cells in drug-free medium. The higher level of resistance of transitioned cells to SM has made it possible to investigate the mechanism of the transition. Using replica plating, it has been possible to isolate spontaneously occurring transitioned cells from a nontransitioned population which appear to outgrow the nontransitioned cells during growth in medium containing 100 mug of CM per ml. If transiitoned cells are subsequently cultured in drug-free medium, the cells return gradually to the nontransitioned state, which has been referred to as the "back-transition was monitored by examining the level of resisitance of the cells to SM. In both situations the cell populations were found to be heterogeneous, consisting of a mixture of nontransitioned and transitioned cells. Under the conditions of our experiments, the transition appeared to be due to the more rapid growth of a minor fraction of spontaneously occurring transitioned cells which outgrew the remainder of cells in the population. To obtain the transition, the drug resistance gene must reside on the r-determinants component of the R factor. The transition did not take place when the cells were cultured in medium containing high concentrations of TC. This indicates that the TC resistance genes reside on the resistance transfer factor component of the R factor, which is in agreement with physical studies on R factor deoxyribonucleic acid.

Homology between the deoxyribonucleic acid of fertility factor P and Vibrio cholerae chromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the Vibrio cholerae fertility factor P was isolated by the dye-buoyant density method and hybridized to V. cholerae chromosomal DNA. The DNA of this fertility plasmid had between 35 to 40% homology with the V. cholerae chromosomal DNA. Little or no homology was detected between the P factor DNA and DNA of the Escherichia coli sex factor F.

Round of replication mutant of a drug resistance factor

A derivative of the R factor NR1 (called R12) has been isolated which undergoes an increased number of rounds of replication each division cycle in Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium. The alteration resulting in the increased number of copies (round of replication mutation) is associated with the transfer factor component of the R factor. R12 has the same drug resistance pattern as NR1, is the same size as shown by sedimentation in a sucrose gradient and electron microscopy (63 x 10(6) daltons), and has the same partial denaturation map. The level of the R factor gene product chloramphenicol acetyltransferase has been examined in P. mirabilis and was found to be consistent with gene dosage effects. The plasmid to chromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid ratio of NR1 increases several fold after entry into stationary phase, whereas this ratio for R12 remains approximately constant. Individual copies of R12 are selected at random for replication from a multicopy plasmid pool. A smaller percentage of R12 copies replicate during amino acid starvation than has previously been found for NR1 in similar experiments.

Extrachromosomal elements in group N streptococci

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of Streptococcus lactis C2, S. cremoris B(1), and S. diacetilactis 18-16 was labeled by growing cells in Trypticase soy broth containing (3)H-labeled thymine. The cells were gently lysed with lysozyme, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and sodium lauryl sulfate. The chromosomal DNA was separated from plasmid DNA by precipitation with 1.0 M sodium chloride. The existence of covalently closed circular DNA in the three organisms was shown by cesium chloride-ethidium bromide equilibrium density gradient centrifugation of the cleared lysate material. In an attempt to correlate the loss of lactose metabolism with the loss of plasmid DNA, lactose-negative mutants of these organisms were examined for the presence of extrachromosomal particles. Covalently closed circular DNA was detected in the lactose-negative mutants of S. lactis C2 and S. diacetilactis 18-16. In S. cremoris B(1), however, no covalently closed circular DNA was observed by using cesium chloride-ethidium bromide gradients. Electron micrographs of the satellite band material from S. lactis C2 and its lactose-negative mutant confirmed the presence of plasmid DNA. Three distinct plasmids having approximate molecular weights of 1.3 x 10(6), 2.1 x 10(6), and 5.1 x 10(6) were observed in both organisms.

Molecular nature of two nonconjugative plasmids carrying drug resistance genes

Two nonconjugative R-plasmids, N-SuSm and N-Tc, have been characterized. Both were of relatively small size (5 x 10(6) to 6 x 10(6) daltons) and present in multiple copies within their respective bacterial hosts. N-SuSm possessed a guanine plus cytosine content of 55%, whereas N-Tc was 49% guanine plus cytosine. Although these plasmids were inherently nontransmissible they could be mobilized by a large variety of transfer agents including Ent, Hly, and K88. The fi(-) transfer factors tested were far more likely (about 200x) to mobilize these nonconjugative plasmids than were the fi(+) transfer factors tested. Although the mobilization phenomenon was not found to be associated with a detectable level of direct stable recombinational union between N-SuSm or N-Tc with a transfer factor, we were able to demonstrate a low level of recombination between these replicons and a transfer factor by P1-mediated transduction. The isolation of recombinants between transfer factors and nonconjugative plasmids presumably represents one means by which unitary molecular types of R-plasmids arise and by which existing R-plasmids may acquire new resistance determinants.

Isolation and characterization of the fertility factor P of Vibrio cholerae

Vibrio cholerae strains with the transmissible fertility factor P contained a supercoiled circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) component amounting to between 2 and 6% of the total DNA obtained from the cells. Such a component was not observed in V. cholerae strains lacking the fertility factor. This supercoiled circular DNA was isolated from P(+) cells, and the molecular weight was determined by sedimentation velocity experiments and electron microscopy to be approximately 80 million daltons. These supercoiled circular DNA molecules, which have a guanine plus cytosine (G + C) composition of 42%, were concluded to be the extrachromosomal P factor. It was calculated that there is approximately one copy of the P factor per chromosome. A small amount of supercoiled circular DNA was occasionally isolated from the P(-) strains of V. cholerae. The function of this component, which has a molecular weight of 40 million daltons, is not known. The molecules found in the P(-) strains were readily distinguished from the P(+) circular molecules by their smaller molecular weight and different G + C composition.

Mutations in R factors of Escherichia coli causing an increased number of R-factor copies per chromosome

A mutant of the repressed R factor R1a and two mutants of the derepressed R factor R1drd-19 showing a two- to fourfold increase in resistance to all of the antibiotics to which the wild-type R factors mediate resistance were studied. The increased resistance was due to a two- to fourfold increase in the number of R-factor copies per chromosome. The production of drug-metabolizing enzymes was linearly correlated to the gene dosage. There was also a linear correlation between resistance to the drugs and the production of the corresponding enzymes. The mutations were also expressed in Proteus mirabilis PM1. In Proteus, R factors are split into two plasmids, resistance transfer factor and the resistance part. The mutation in one of the mutant R factors seems to be located in the resistance part. A second fi(+) R factor (R100) was introduced into strains already carrying R1drd-19 or the mutant R factor R1drd-19B2. In the first case, R100 and R1drd-19 segregated with equal probability when the bacteria were grown on antibiotic-free medium, whereas, in the second case, R100 was rapidly and preferentially excluded.

Positive and negative control of R-factor replication in Proteus mirabilis

Replication of the 50 and 58 moles per cent guanine plus cytosine (%GC) components of R factor 222 in Proteus mirabilis during growth in the presence and absence of chloramphenicol and after shifting exponential- and stationary-phase cells to conditions which inhibit host protein or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis was examined. Chloramphenicol reduced the growth rate but increased the amount of both R-factor components; the 58% GC component showed a larger proportionate increase. This was inferred to indicate reduced synthesis of an inhibitor that acts on both R-factor components and an initiator for replication of the 50% GC component. Replicative patterns observed after shifting exponential- and stationary-phase cells grown with or without chloramphenicol to minimal medium or chloramphenicol for one generation, or puromycin for 3 hr, corroborated this interpretation. After shifts of exponential cells from either medium, replication of the 50% GC components paralleled host replication, thus indicating a requirement for protein synthesis; replication of the 58% GC component increased due to reduced inhibitor synthesis. R-factor DNA remained constant after shifting stationary cells from drug-free medium, thus indicating that the cells contained effective concentrations of the regulatory inhibitor, whereas increased replication of the 58% GC component occurred after identical shifts of chloramphenicol-grown cells of the same chronological age. Similar responses were observed after shifts to 5 C or to medium containing streptomycin or tetracycline. Absence of replication of the 50% GC component after shifting to medium containing nalidixic acid or phenethanol and its hereditary persistence during growth indicated that the 50% GC replicon was attached to the membrane. Thus, in P. mirabilis the three replicons of R factor 222 are regulated as follows: The composite and transfer portion (RTF) replicons represented by the 50% GC component require protein synthesis and membrane attachment and are negatively regulated by an inhibitor; the 58% GC or resistance-determinants replicon exists cytoplasmically and is subject only to negative control.

Isolation of circular deoxyribonucleic acid from Salmonella typhosa hybrids obtained from matings with Escherichia coli Hfr donors

Heterozygous, partial diploid Salmonella typhosa hybrids obtained from matings with Escherichia coli K-12 Hfr strains were observed to contain supercoiled, circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) when examined by the dye-buoyant density method. Examination of one such S. typhosa hybrid after its loss, by segregation, of the inherited E. coli genetic markers revealed a concurrent loss of its supercoiled circular DNA. Subsequent remating of this segregant with various E. coli Hfr strains resulted in the reappearance of the circular DNA. Molecular weight determinations of circular DNA molecules isolated from a number of S. typhosa partial diploid hybrids were made by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and electron microscopy. These studies revealed a range of molecular sizes among the various hybrids examined, but each hybrid exhibited only a single characteristic size for its contained circular DNA. The range of size is consistent with the presence in each hybrid of a different length of E. coli chromosome. It was concluded that the E. coli Hfr genetic segments transferred to these S. typhosa hybrids were conserved, in the diploid state, in the form of supercoiled, circular DNA molecules.

Polynucleotide sequence relationships among some bacterial plasmids

The deoxyribonucleic acid of F-like plasmids appear to share a high degree of nucleotide similarity with each other but are not highly related to I-like plasmids.

Physical studies of the drug-resistance transfer factor in Proteus

The transfer unit, RTF, derived from an R factor has been transferred to Proteus mirabilis and characterized physiochemically.

R factor deoxyribonucleic acid in chromosomeless progeny of Escherichia coli

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of resistance (R) factor 222 carried by Escherichia coli strain P678-54 was found in the normally chromosomeless progeny (minicells) of that strain. The entry of the R222 DNA into minicells appears to be via segregation at the time of their formation from normal cells. The R222 DNA can replicate in minicells although the extent of its replication appears to be limited. An analysis of the R222 DNA structure indicates that it exists in minicells as double-stranded linear, open circular, and twisted circular monomers (molecular weight, about 6.2 x 10(7) daltons). The monomers visualized by electron microscopy are 31.0 +/- 0.5 mum in length. An examination of the effect of acridine orange on the replication of R222 and colicin E1 DNA indicates the dye intereferes with plasmid DNA replication.

Specific labeling and physical characterization of R-factor deoxyribonucleic acid in Escherichia coli

The molecular nature of R-factor deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was examined in Escherichia coli by using a method for the specific labeling of the derepressed R factor, R1, in a female cell after conjugation. Sixty minutes after mating, the R factor was isolated as a single molecule with a molecular weight of 65 x 10(6) daltons. This single molecular species sedimented as either a covalently closed molecule or a "nicked" circle. When the single R-factor component was centrifuged in a CsCl density gradient, only a single homogeneous species with a buoyant density of 1.711 g/cm(3) was observed. R-factor DNA was also isolated directly from exponentially growing cells of E. coli as a covalently closed single molecular species comprising about 1% of the total cellular DNA. Previous studies in Proteus show that R1 factor DNA components of buoyant density 1.709, 1.711, and 1.716 g/cm(3) can be identified as distinct replicons. It is suggested that the single molecule of R1 observed in E. coli is most simply explained as a composite structure resulting from a recombinational assemblage of a 1.709 and 1.716 g/cm(3) replicon.

Studies on resistance transfer factor deoxyribonucleic acid in Escherichia coli

A variant of the derepressed R factor, R1, which does not contain any of the drug resistance markers, and represents, in large part, the resistance transfer factor (RTF) was studied in Escherichia coli. RTF deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was specifically labeled in a female cell after conjugation. Physical characterization of the molecule showed that RTF possessed an average molecular weight of 50 x 10(6) daltons and a buoyant density of 1.709 g/cm(3). By comparison to R1, we calculate that the region of DNA carrying the drug resistance genes is therefore about 20% of the R1 molecule and has a buoyant density of approximately 1.716 g/cm(3). These results support the hypothesis that the single species of R-factor DNA observed in E. coli represents a composite of the 1.709 and 1.716 g/cm(3) replicons seen in Proteus.

Plasmid formation after lambda bacteriophage infection of Escherichia coli-Salmonella typhosa hybrids

Defective phage lambdadg, when present in certain Salmonella typhosa hybrids, could be eliminated with acridine orange or ethidium bromide treatment. The lambdadg deoxyribonucleic acid could be separated from the S. typhosa host deoxyribonucleic acid as a distinctly covalently closed molecule.