Bacterial genetics
is the study of how genetic information is
Chapter 2b: BACTERIAL GENETICS: DNA EXCHANGE, transferred, either from a particular bacterium to its
RECOMBINATION, MUTAGENESIS, AND REPAIR
offspring or between interbreeding lines of bacteria,
how genetic information is expressed, and how the
genetic information (genotype) determines the
physiology of the bacterium (phenotype).
Jane G. Cabauatan, Ph.D.
Professor
The genetics of bacteria is very different from
that of higher organisms.
Firstly, bacteria are generally haploid, with one
copy of each gene on a single circular
chromosome.
Secondly, gene transfer in bacteria is normally
unidirectional.
What is the genetic material of bacteria? DNA Exchange
The bacterial genetic material is a single, circular
molecule of DNA not arranged into a chromosome. Bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material (plasmid)
between bacterial cells by direct cell-to-cell contact or by a
bridge-like connection between two cells.
Bacteria can have several shapes (e.g., rod shaped;
filamentous; spiral shaped).
Discovered in 1946 by Joshua Lederberg and Edward Tatum,
conjugation is a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer as are
Many bacteria cause disease by producing toxins. transformation and transduction although these two other
mechanisms do not involve cell-to-cell contact.
Bacterial infections that cause human illness can be
prevented by vaccines or can be cured by antibiotics.
The genetic information transferred is often beneficial to the
Bacterial conjugation is often regarded as the bacterial recipient.
equivalent of sexual reproduction or mating since it involves the
exchange of genetic material.
Benefits may include antibiotic resistance, xenobiotic
tolerance or the ability to use new metabolites.
During conjugation the donor cell provides a conjugative or
mobilizable genetic element that is most often a plasmid or
transposon. Such beneficial plasmids may be considered bacterial
endosymbionts.
Most conjugative plasmids have systems ensuring that the
recipient cell does not already contain a similar element. Other elements, however, may be viewed as bacterial
parasites and conjugation as a mechanism evolved by them
to allow for their spread.
Bacterial Conjugation
Conjugation
Bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic 1. Donor cell produces pilus.
material between bacterial cells by direct cell-to-
cell contact or by a bridge-like connection 2. Pilus attaches to recipient cell and brings the two
between two cells. cells together.
This takes place through a pilus.
3. The mobile plasmid is nicked and a single strand
It is a parasexual mode of reproduction in
of DNA is then transferred to the recipient cell.
bacteria. 4. Both cells synthesize a complementary strand to
produce a double stranded circular plasmid and
It is a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer as are also reproduce pili; both cells are now viable
transformation and transduction although these
donor for the F-factor.
two other mechanisms do not involve cell-to-cell
contact The F Factor is an episomea plasmid that can
integrate itself into the
bacterial chromosome by homologous
recombination) with a length of about 100 kb.
Genetic Recombination
In bacteria, genetic recombination occurs during conjugation,
transformation, transduction post-replication repair,
during repair of double strand breaks in DNA, integration of
phage DNA with chromosomal DNA and transposons etc.
Homologous recombination can lead to gene conversion.
Bacteria are haploid, therefore do not undergo meiosis.
Mutagenesis
Mutagenesis (/mjuːtəˈdʒɛnɪsɪs/) is a process by which the genetic information
of an organism is changed by the production of a mutation.
It may occur spontaneously in nature, or as a result of exposure to mutagens.
It can also be achieved experimentally using laboratory procedures.
A mutagen is a mutation-causing agent, be it chemical or physical, which
results in an increased rate of mutations in an organism's genetic code.
In nature mutagenesis can lead to cancer and various heritable diseases, and
it is also a driving force of evolution.
Mutagenesis as a science was developed based on work done by Hermann
Muller, Charlotte Auerbach and J. M. Robson in the first half of the 20th
century.
In bacteria…
Stress-induced mutagenesis in bacteria.
Bacteria spend their lives buffeted by changing
environmental conditions.
To adapt to and survive these stresses, bacteria have
global response systems that result in sweeping changes
in gene expression and cellular metabolism.
Author: Patricia L Foster Publish Year: 2007
Mutations and Selections Role of Mutagenesis in Bacteria
Mutations in an organism's genome can arise spontaneously,
that is,
in the absence of exogenous stress and prior to selection.
Mutations are often neutral or deleterious to individual fitness
but can also provide genetic diversity driving evolution.
Mutagenesis in bacteria contributes to the already serious
and growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
However, the negative impacts of spontaneous
mutagenesis on human health
are not limited to bacterial antibiotic resistance.
Spontaneous mutations also underlie tumorigenesis and
evolution of drug resistance.
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects
Bacterial Repair damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome
In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such
as radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in tens of thousands of
individual molecular lesions per cell per day
Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can
alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA
encodes.
Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which
affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis.
As a consequence, the DNA repair process is constantly active as it responds to
damage in the DNA structure.
When normal repair processes fail, and when cellular apoptosis does not occur,
irreparable DNA damage may occur, including double-strand breaks and DNA
crosslinkages (interstrand crosslinks or ICLs)
Apoptosis- the death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled This can eventually lead to malignant tumors, or cancer as per the two hit
part of an organism's growth or development. Also called programmed hypothesis.
cell death.
The rate of DNA repair is dependent on many factors, including the cell End …
type, the age of the cell, and the extracellular environment.
A cell that has accumulated a large amount of DNA damage, or one that
no longer effectively repairs damage incurred to its DNA, can enter one
of three possible states:
1. an irreversible state of dormancy, known as senescence
2. cell suicide, also known as apoptosis or programmed cell death
3. unregulated cell division, which can lead to the formation of a tumor that
is cancerous
The DNA repair ability of a cell is vital to the integrity of its genome and
thus to the normal functionality of that organism.
Many genes that were initially shown to influence life span have turned
out to be involved in DNA damage repair and protection.