Abstract
Plasmid-related conjugation in gram-positive, nonstreptomycete bacteria was first reported in 1974 by Jacob and Hobbs (38). They identified an R-plasmid (pJH1) and a hemolysin/ bacteriocin plasmid (pJH2) in a clinical isolate of Enterococcus (formerly Streptococcus) faecalis and found both capable of transfer in broth matings (38, 39). Independently, and at about the same time, Tomura et al (67), in Japan, reported on the transferability of a hemolysin/bacteriocin determinant in E. faecalis. Although physical evidence for plasmid involvement was not presented, it is highly likely that this was indeed the case, as the frequency of transfer was quite high (10−2 per donor in broth matings); and subsequent studies showed that the hemolysin/bacteriocin trait exhibited by many E. faecalis strains usually involved a conjugative plasmid (4, 6).
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Clewell, D.B. (1993). Sex Pheromones and the Plasmid-Encoded Mating Response in Enterococcus faecalis . In: Clewell, D.B. (eds) Bacterial Conjugation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9357-4_14
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