INVIVO TRANSFER OF GENES FROM ESCHERICHIA-COLI TO BACILLUS-SUBTILIS

Escherichia coli cells, carrying plasmid pRD1 with (a) drug resistance markers from Pseudomonas (kmr, carbr, tcr) and (b) the nif-gene group from Klebsiella, were incubated together with Bacillus subtilis cells (strr), whose cell wall had been disintegrated with lysozyme. Upon plating the cell mixtures onto appropriately supplemented selective medium, multiple drug resistant Bacillus subtilis cells were obtained. Their nature was verified by suitable biochemical tests and checking for the presence of additional genetic markers. The majority of the isolates was unstable. Some however retained multiple drug resistance for longer periods of time, and several produced nitrogenase activity. The data are interpreted as evidence not only for the transfer of the respective genes but also for their expression in the gram-positive recipient cells. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.