The Effect of Outer Space and Other Environmental Cues on Bacterial Conjugation
Bar Piscon, Eliana Pia Esposito, Boris Fichtman, Guy Samburski, Lihi Efremushkin, Shimon Amselem, Amnon Harel, Galia Rahav, Raffaele Zarrilli, Ohad Gal‐Mor
Abstract
Bacterial conjugation is a highly ubiquitous and promiscuous process, by which a donor bacterium transfers a large portion of genetic material to a recipient cell. This mechanism of horizontal gene transfer plays an important role in bacterial evolution and in the ability of bacteria to acquire resistance to antimicrobial drugs and disinfectants. Bacterial conjugation is a complex and energy-consuming process, that is tightly regulated and largely affected by various environmental signals sensed by the bacterial cell. Comprehensive knowledge about bacterial conjugation and the ways it is affected by environmental cues is required to better understand bacterial ecology and evolution and to find new effective ways to counteract the threating dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes between bacterial populations. Moreover, characterizing this process under stress or suboptimal growth conditions such as elevated temperatures, high salinity or in the outer space, may provide insights relevant to future habitat environmental conditions.