AUTHOR=Carranza Gerardo , Menguiano Tamara , Valenzuela-Gómez Fernando , García-Cazorla Yolanda , Cabezón Elena , Arechaga Ignacio TITLE=Monitoring Bacterial Conjugation by Optical Microscopy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.750200 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.750200 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=

Bacterial conjugation is the main mechanism for horizontal gene transfer, conferring plasticity to the genome repertoire. This process is also the major instrument for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. Hence, gathering primary information of the mechanism underlying this genetic transaction is of a capital interest. By using fluorescent protein fusions to the ATPases that power conjugation, we have been able to track the localization of these proteins in the presence and absence of recipient cells. Moreover, we have found that more than one copy of the conjugative plasmid is transferred during mating. Altogether, these findings provide new insights into the mechanism of such an important gene transfer device.