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 Nielsen, K. M.
Right arrow Articles by van Elsas, J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nielsen, K. M.
Right arrow Articles by van Elsas, J. D.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Nielsen, K. M.
Right arrow Articles by van Elsas, J. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2000, p. 206-212, Vol. 66, No. 1
0099-2240/0/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Natural Transformation of Acinetobacter sp. Strain BD413 with Cell Lysates of Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Burkholderia cepacia in Soil Microcosms

Kaare M. Nielsen,1,* Kornelia Smalla,2 and Jan D. van Elsas3

Unigen and Department of Botany, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway1; Institut für Biochemie und Pflanzenvirologie, BBA, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany2; and Research Institute for Plant Protection, BBA, IPO-DLO, 6700 GW Wageningen, The Netherlands3

Received 30 July 1999/Accepted 20 October 1999

To elucidate the biological significance of dead bacterial cells in soil to the intra- and interspecies transfer of gene fragments by natural transformation, we have exposed the kanamycin-sensitive recipient Acinetobacter sp. strain BD413(pFG4) to lysates of the kanamycin-resistant donor bacteria Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Burkholderia cepacia. Detection of gene transfer was facilitated by the recombinational repair of a partially (317 bp) deleted kanamycin resistance gene in the recipient bacterium. The investigation revealed a significant potential of these DNA sources to transform Acinetobacter spp. residing both in sterile and in nonsterile silt loam soil. Heat-treated (80°C, 15 min) cell lysates were capable of transforming strain BD413 after 4 days of incubation in sterile soil and for up to 8 h in nonsterile soil. Transformation efficiencies obtained in vitro and in situ with the various lysates were similar to or exceeded those obtained with conventionally purified DNA. The presence of cell debris did not inhibit transformation in soil, and the debris may protect DNA from rapid biological inactivation. Natural transformation thus provides Acinetobacter spp. with an efficient mechanism to access genetic information from different bacterial species in soil. The relatively short-term biological activity (e.g., transforming activity) of chromosomal DNA in soil contrasts the earlier reported long-term physical stability of DNA, where fractions have been found to persist for several weeks in soil. Thus, there seems to be a clear difference between the physical and the functional significance of chromosomal DNA in soil.

* Corresponding author. Present address: D. Hartl Laboratory, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138. Phone: (617) 496-5540. Fax: (617) 496-5854. E-mail: knielsen{at}oeb.harvard.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2000, p. 206-212, Vol. 66, No. 1
0099-2240/0/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Chee-Sanford, J. C., Mackie, R. I., Koike, S., Krapac, I. G., Lin, Y.-F., Yannarell, A. C., Maxwell, S., Aminov, R. I. (2009). Fate and Transport of Antibiotic Residues and Antibiotic Resistance Genes following Land Application of Manure Waste. J. Environ. Qual. 38: 1086-1108 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ceremonie, H., Buret, F., Simonet, P., Vogel, T. M. (2006). Natural Electrotransformation of Lightning-Competent Pseudomonas sp. Strain N3 in Artificial Soil Microcosms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 2385-2389 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ceremonie, H., Buret, F., Simonet, P., Vogel, T. M. (2004). Isolation of Lightning-Competent Soil Bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 6342-6346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dunfield, K. E., Germida, J. J. (2004). Impact of Genetically Modified Crops on Soil- and Plant-Associated Microbial Communities. J. Environ. Qual. 33: 806-815 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Coombs, J. M., Barkay, T. (2004). Molecular Evidence for the Evolution of Metal Homeostasis Genes by Lateral Gene Transfer in Bacteria from the Deep Terrestrial Subsurface. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 1698-1707 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Townsend, J. P., Nielsen, K. M., Fisher, D. S., Hartl, D. L. (2003). Horizontal Acquisition of Divergent Chromosomal DNA in Bacteria: Effects of Mutator Phenotypes. Genetics 164: 13-21 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nielsen, K. M., van Elsas, J. D., Smalla, K. (2000). Transformation of Acinetobacter sp. Strain BD413(pFG4Delta nptII) with Transgenic Plant DNA in Soil Microcosms and Effects of Kanamycin on Selection of Transformants. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 1237-1242 [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»