Resumen de Characterization of a native plasmid from Bacillus subtilis with special focus on its regulatory circuit for conjugation
Bacteria have the ability to adapt rapidly to changing environmental conditions. A main reason for this is their capacity to interchange genetic material via different routes, collectively named Horizontal Gene transfer (HGT). A major route of HGT is conjugation, which is the transfer of a genetic element from a donor cell to a recipient cell via a sophisticated intercelular connecting tube. Conjugative elements can be present on autonomously replicating plasmids or can be integrated in the bacterial genome. Besides promoting rapid evolutionary changes in bacteria growing in their environmental hábitats, conjugation-mediated HGT has major impacts for our society, both positively and negatively. (sacado del informe del Dr. Wilhelmus J.J. Meijer).
