Chapter 9 Flashcards
Transformation
-process of importing DNA from the environment into bacterial cells
competence
- ability it take up new DNA
- done by perturbing the membrane by chemical (CaCl2) or electrical (electroporation) methods
Transformation in some Gram-positive species
-use a transformasometo become competent and acquire DNA
Transformation in some Gram-negative species
- don’t use competence factors (CF).
- Either they are always competent, or they become competent when starved
Conjugation
- transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another via cell-to-cell contact.
- Often called “bacterial sex.”
- initiated by a special sex pilus protruding from the donor cell
- requires the presence of special (conjugal) plasmids-contain the genes needed for pilus formation
fertility factor (F factor) plasmid
- well-studied example of conjugal plasmid in E. coli
- Contains two replication origins:
1. oriV: used for normal replication
2. oriT: used during DNA transfer
-begins with contact between the donor cell, called the F+ cell, and a recipient F– cell
conjugation process
- The sex pilus draws cells together
- The plasmid is nicked at oriT
- Rolling circle replication in donor cell
- Transferred ssDNA is replicated in recipient cell
- F- recipient cell is converted to F+
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
- bacteria that can transfer genes across phylogenetic domains
- causes crown gall disease
- Contains a tumor-inducing plasmid (Ti) that can be transferred via conjugation to plant cells
- transferred T-DNA “engineers” plant cells to proliferate and feed the Agrobacterium cells in the plant gall (tumor)
- Can be used to transfer cloned genes into plant genomes
Transduction
- process in which bacteriophages carry host DNA from one cell to another
- occurs accidentally as an offshoot of the phage life cycle
Generalized transduction
-can transfer any gene from a donor to a recipient cell
protection system, restriction and modification, involves
- Enzymatic cleavage of alien DNA, by restriction endonucleases that recognize specific short sequences
- Protective methylation of those sequences in the host’s own DNA
Generalized recombination
requires a considerable stretch of homologous DNA sequences, which are very similar in sequence
Site-specific recombination
- requires short specific sequences that are the same between the recombining DNA molecules.
- specific short sequences are recognized by specific recombination enzymes
RecA protein
- required by Generalized recombination
- molecules are also called synaptases
- They scan DNA molecules for homology and align the homologous regions, forming a triplex DNA molecule, or synapse
site-specific recombinase enzyme
-involves very short specific homology sequences between donor and target DNA molecules