Correlation between the prevalence of plasmids and AMR genes in the environmental isolates of different bacterial species

Abstract

Bacterial gene transfer is responsible for spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and evolution of bacteria which can be a threat of virulence as well play role in maintenance. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the key process for transferring gene. It involves three mechanisms- conjugation, transformation and transduction. To distantly related species of bacteria, via HGT, exogenous DNA can be transferred from one bacterium to another. Apart from HGT, prophage induction and infection can be a way of transferring gene. For this, the prophage is induced by UV radiation and infects with bacterial competent cell to make the new viral particles. On the infection with other bacteria, the prophage can carry the gene through plasmid packaging or miss packaging and may also be integrated to the chromosomal DNA of the newly formed particle. Following that, in preliminary selection it showed growth of resistant colonies of its bacteria insuring of gene transfer. Further for genetic validation, plasmid isolation assures of plasmid packaging, here the result was negative for plasmid packaging thus it indicates of gene transferring and integrating to the chromosomal DNA. To validate the result, more advanced study and farther genetic validation is required like polymerase chain reaction to assure the presence of the antibiotic resistant gene in the infected particles.