Abstract
The sex pheromone system of Enterococcus faecalis is responsible for the clumping response of a plasmid carrying donor strain with a corresponding plasmid free recipient strain due to the production of sex pheromones by the recipient strain. The clumping response is mediated by a surface material (called aggregation substance) which is synthesized upon addition of sex pheromones to the cultures. Here we show that after induction a dense layer of “hairlike” structures is formed on the cell wall of the bacteria. These hairlike structures are responsible for the cell-cell contact which leads to the aggregation of cells. Formation of these structures was specific, only occurring after the addition of homologous sex pheromone.
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Abbreviations
- cAD1:
-
sex pheromone specific for plasmid pAD1
- cPD1:
-
sex pheromone specific for plasmid pPD1
- CW:
-
cell wall
- pAD1:
-
conjugative plasmid specifically transferred in the presence of cAD1
- pPD1:
-
conjugative plasmid specifically transferred in the presence of cPD1
- PBS:
-
10 mM Na-phosphate pH 7.5, 0.85% NaCl
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Galli, D., Wirth, R. & Wanner, G. Identification of aggregation substances of Enterococcus faecalis cells after induction by sex pheromones. Arch. Microbiol. 151, 486–490 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00454863
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00454863