Effects of biofilm formation on plasmid segregational stability and expression

Abstract

Recombinant plasmids are a significant tool for biotechnological research and have enormous commercial potential for the expression of foreign genes in procaryotic and eucaryotic organisms. Two major impcdiments to widespread utilization of genetically-engineered expression systems within natural ecosystems are: (1) the instability of the plasmid under a variety of conditions, and (2) the lack of knowledge regarding the fate of recombinant DNA in natural ecosystems. Governmental regulations have thus far severely restricted the development of processes involving the exposure to the environment of geneticallymanipulated organisms. Not surprisingly, significant effort has been spent in determining the mechanisms involved in plasmid loss from cells, and in initial studies of the fate of geneticallyengineered DNA sequences in the environment.