Conjugation is a sophisticated strategy employed by bacteria to exchange antimicrobial resistance genes among bacterial populations, using conjugative F-pili that establish the connection between donor and recipient cells, thereby facilitating the spread of IncF plasmids among enteropathogenic bacteria. The authors highlight the importance of F-pilus structural adaptations that equip the bacteria with a dual strategy to equally potentiate the transmissibility of multidrug-resistant IncF plasmids and the formation of protective biofilm communities in the environment. They further explain that this phenomenon poses an obvious ecological advantage by guaranteeing rapid dissemination of drug-resistance plasmids in a wide range of environmental conditions while simultaneously accelerating propagation of protective biofilm communities in human and animal niches.
Link to the article: bit.ly/3N2Gcem
Published On: /04/2023
