Direct Visualization of Horizontal Gene Transfer

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 319; no. 5869; pp. 1533 - 1536
• Main Authors: Babić, Ana, Lindner, Ariel B, Vulić, Marin, Stewart, Eric J, Radman, Miroslav
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 14.03.2008; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - metabolism; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Cell lines; Cells; Chromosomes; Conjugation, Genetic; Crossovers; Dams; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Bacterial - metabolism; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Drug resistance; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - genetics; Escherichia coli Proteins - genetics; Escherichia coli Proteins - metabolism; Exodeoxyribonuclease V - metabolism; Fellowships; Fluorescence; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Transfer, Horizontal; Genes; Genetics; Horizontal gene transfer; Luminescent Proteins - metabolism; Microbiology; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Molecular biology; Pili, Sex - physiology; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - metabolism; Recombination, Genetic; Recombination; Enzyme; Escherichia coli; Virulence; Pilus; Esterases; Metabolic pathway; Exodeoxyribonuclease V; Real time; Genetic transfer; Resistance; Antibiotic; Gene; Bacteria; Hydrolases; Replication; Conjugation; Fusion protein; Enterobacteriaceae
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1153498

Conjugation allows bacteria to acquire genes for antibiotic resistance, novel virulence attributes, and alternative metabolic pathways. Using a fluorescent protein fusion, SeqA-YFP, we have visualized this process in real time and in single cells of Escherichia coli. We found that the F pilus mediates DNA transfer at considerable cell-to-cell distances. Integration of transferred DNA by recombination occurred in up to 96% of recipients; in the remaining cells, the transferred DNA was fully degraded by the RecBCD helicase/nuclease. The acquired integrated DNA was tracked through successive replication rounds and was found to occasionally split and segregate with different chromosomes, leading to the inheritance of different gene clusters within the cell lineage. The incidence of DNA splitting corresponds to about one crossover per cell generation.