The effect of R factor transfer on bacterial growth rates. An in vitro study
Sogaard, H.
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 16(3): 388-395
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0044-605X PMID: 1101674 Document Number: 94935
Donor and recipient strains of Escherichia coli, collected from the faeces of healthy pigs, were grown in mixed cultures. Transfer of R factor was determined by plating these cultures on agar supplemented with one of the antibiotics to which the donor strain was resistant, and on which only recombinant cells of the recipient strain could multiply. Generation times were determined for donor and recipient strains by periodic removal, dilution and replating of aliquots of the cultures. No measurable inhibitory effect on the growth rate of the bacteria was observed, but it was emphasized that this study covered only a single growth cycle of 5-6 generations.