This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Marcinek, H.
Right arrow Articles by Gauer, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Marcinek, H.
Right arrow Articles by Gauer, M.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Marcinek, H.
Right arrow Articles by Gauer, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl Environ Microbiol, February 1998, p. 626-632, Vol. 64, No. 2
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Enterococcus faecalis Gene Transfer under Natural Conditions in Municipal Sewage Water Treatment Plantsdagger

Herbert Marcinek, Reinhard Wirth,* Albrecht Muscholl-Silberhorn, and Matthias Gauer

Microbiology-NWFIII, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany

Received 2 October 1997/Accepted 12 November 1997

The ability of Enterococcus faecalis to transfer various genetic elements under natural conditions was tested in two municipal sewage water treatment plants. Experiments in activated sludge basins of the plants were performed in a microcosm which allowed us to work under sterile conditions; experiments in anoxic sludge digestors were performed in dialysis bags. We used the following naturally occurring genetic elements: pAD1 and pIP1017 (two so-called sex pheromone plasmids with restricted host ranges, which are transferred at high rates under laboratory conditions); pIP501 (a resistance plasmid possessing a broad host range for gram-positive bacteria, which is transferred at low rates under laboratory conditions); and Tn916 (a conjugative transposon which is transferred under laboratory conditions at low rates to gram-positive bacteria and at very low rates to gram-negative bacteria). The transfer rate between different strains of E. faecalis under natural conditions was, compared to that under laboratory conditions, at least 105-fold lower for the sex pheromone plasmids, at least 100-fold lower for pIP501, and at least 10-fold lower for Tn916. In no case was transfer from E. faecalis to another bacterial species detected. By determining the dependence of transfer rates for pIP1017 on bacterial concentration and extrapolating to actual concentrations in the sewage water treatment plant, we calculated that the maximum number of transfer events for the sex pheromone plasmids between different strains of E. faecalis in the municipal sewage water treatment plant of the city of Regensburg ranged from 105 to 108 events per 4 h, indicating that gene transfer should take place under natural conditions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Mikrobiologie-NWFIII, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany. Phone: (49) 941 943 1825. Fax: (49) 941 943 1824. E-mail: Reinhard.Wirth{at}biologie.uni-regensburg.de.

dagger This paper is dedicated to Herbert Marcinek, who died in a tragic accident.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Szczepanowski, R., Linke, B., Krahn, I., Gartemann, K.-H., Gutzkow, T., Eichler, W., Puhler, A., Schluter, A. (2009). Detection of 140 clinically relevant antibiotic-resistance genes in the plasmid metagenome of wastewater treatment plant bacteria showing reduced susceptibility to selected antibiotics. Microbiology 155: 2306-2319 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Anderson, J. F., Parrish, T. D., Akhtar, M., Zurek, L., Hirt, H. (2008). Antibiotic Resistance of Enterococci in American Bison (Bison bison) from a Nature Preserve Compared to That of Enterococci in Pastured Cattle. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 1726-1730 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kummerer, K. (2004). Resistance in the environment. J Antimicrob Chemother 54: 311-320 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Licht, T. R., Laugesen, D., Jensen, L. B., Jacobsen, B. L. (2002). Transfer of the Pheromone-Inducible Plasmid pCF10 among Enterococcus faecalis Microorganisms Colonizing the Intestine of Mini-Pigs. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 187-193 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • van de Kerk-van Hoof, A., Heck, A. J. R. (1999). Interactions of {alpha}- and {beta}-avoparcin with bacterial cell-wall receptor-mimicking peptides studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. J Antimicrob Chemother 44: 593-599 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Netherwood, T., Bowden, R., Harrison, P., O'Donnell, A. G., Parker, D. S., Gilbert, H. J. (1999). Gene Transfer in the Gastrointestinal Tract. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 5139-5141 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stuart-Keil, K. G., Hohnstock, A. M., Drees, K. P., Herrick, J. B., Madsen, E. L. (1998). Plasmids Responsible for Horizontal Transfer of Naphthalene Catabolism Genes between Bacteria at a Coal Tar-Contaminated Site Are Homologous to pDTG1 from Pseudomonas putida NCIB 9816-4. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64: 3633-3640 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»