Plasmid transfer between marine Vibrio strains during predation by the heterotrophic microflagellate Cafeteria roenbergensis

Abstract

The effect of grazing by the heterotrophic microflagellate Cafeteria roenbergensis on plasmid transfer between marine Vibrio S14 strains was studied by using artificial seawater. Several factors of potential importance for regulation of the plasmid transfer, such as nutrient release, production of a flagellate-derived substance(s) that may affect plasmid transfer, and the presence of surfaces, were investigated. Only living flagellates gave rise to, at instances, plasmid transfer enhanced more than 2 orders of magnitude. We propose that the activity of grazing flagellates allows for the significant increase in plasmid transfer observed under predation conditions. This may be due to a localized increase in bacterial numbers through filter feeding, thus providing high cell densities with increased possibility for cell-to-cell-contact and hence plasmid transfer.