Interactions between an integrative and conjugative element and its bacterial host

Conjugative elements are mobile genetic elements that can transfer from a donor bacterium to a recipient via an element-encoded type IV secretion system. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are an abundant class of conjugative element. ICEs are typically integrated into the bacterial host chromosome, but under certain conditions, or stochastically, they can excise from the chromosome and transfer to a recipient. ICEs likely interact with their bacterial host at every stage of their life cycle, but few of these interactions have been characterized. In this work I sought to 1) identify bacterial host factors necessary for efficient transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEBs1 to a recipient, and 2) determine whether the ICEBs1-encoded cell wall-modifying enzyme CwlT acts on the cell wall of the donor bacterium, the recipient bacterium, or both.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Harden, Mark Michael,Jr.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Alan D. Grossman.

• Biology.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130662

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/130662