Role of plasmids in the virulence of enteric bacteria

Abstract

Plasmids have been shown to play an important role in the pathogenecity of most enterobacteria. Their involvement in various enterobacteria was discovered at different times and there is resemblance in the type of toxins produced by a number of enterobacteria and in the genes responsible for the production of the toxins and invasiveness. This indicates a spread of a factor from one bacterial strain to another, thus enabling the recipient to demonstrate the characteristic coded for. This factor may be the plasmid or chromosomal portion that codes for the characteristic.