Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1985 Aug;49(2):291-7.
doi: 10.1128/iai.49.2.291-297.1985.

Demonstration of a capsule plasmid in Bacillus anthracis

B D Green, L Battisti, T M Koehler, C B Thorne, B E Ivins

Demonstration of a capsule plasmid in Bacillus anthracis

B D Green et al. Infect Immun. 1985 Aug.

Abstract

Virulent and certain avirulent strains of Bacillus anthracis harbor a plasmid, designated pXO2, which is involved in the synthesis of capsules. Two classes of rough, noncapsulated (Cap-) variants were isolated from the capsule-producing (Cap+) Pasteur vaccine strains ATCC 6602 and ATCC 4229. One class was cured of pXO2, and the other class still carried it. Reversion to Cap+ was demonstrable only in rough variants which had retained pXO2. Proof that pXO2 is involved in capsule synthesis came from experiments in which the plasmid was transferred by CP-51-mediated transduction and by a mating system in which plasmid transfer is mediated by a Bacillus thuringiensis fertility plasmid, pXO12. Cells of Bacillus cereus and a previously noncapsulated (pXO2-) strain of B. anthracis produced capsules after the acquisition of pXO2.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Bacteriol. 1952 Mar;63(3):363-8 - PubMed
    1. Infect Immun. 1983 Jan;39(1):483-6 - PubMed
    1. J Gen Microbiol. 1966 Apr;43(1):119-38 - PubMed
    1. J Gen Microbiol. 1960 Feb;22:206-18 - PubMed
    1. Cell. 1983 Sep;34(2):693-7 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources