Degradative Plasmids

Bacterial Structure
Part 1
Structure of Fimbriae or Pili
Functions of Fimbriae or Pili
Parts of Flagella
Bacterial Movement
Spirochaetal Movement
Gliding Movement
Nucleoid (Nucleus)
Plasmids
Classes of Plasmids
Gene Pickup and Sex Factors
R Plasmids
Plasmids Conferring Pathogenecity to mammals
Col Plasmids
Degradative Plasmids
Mercury Resistance Plasmids
Tumor Inducing Plasmid in Agrobacterium Tumifaciens
Cryptic Plasmids
Staphylococcal Plasmids

Degradative Plasmids

Degradative Plasmids - Some microbes have the ability to degrade 'dead' organic matter resulting from death or excretion.

They utilize the organic matter for biosynthesis and energy, and recycle it.

Strains of pseudomonads have been isolated which can degrade about a hundred different organic compounds for energy and carbon sources.

The degradative enzymes may be coded by the chromosomes or the plasmids.

The versatility of pseudomonads is due to the presence of plasmids which code enzymes of catabolic pathways of a number of complex organic substrates.

Some fermentation reactions are specified by plasmids, e. g. the ability to ferment lactose (lac plasmid) and other carbohydrates in strains of the enteric bacteria Salmonella, Proteus and Yersinia.

The presence of the lac plasmid can cause confusion in diagnosing medically important bacteria, since the ability or inability to ferment lactose is often used in classifying clinical isolates.

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