TraG encoded by the pIP501 type IV secretion system is a two-domain peptidoglycan-degrading enzyme essential for conjugative transfer.

pIP501 is a conjugative broad-host-range plasmid frequently present in nosocomial Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates. We focus here on the functional analysis of the type IV secretion gene traG, which was found to be essential for pIP501 conjugative transfer between Gram-positive bacteria. The TraG protein, which localizes to the cell envelope of E.

Detection of conjugative plasmids and antibiotic resistance genes in anthropogenic soils from Germany and India.

PCR typing methods were used to assess the presence of plasmids of the incompatibility (Inc) groups IncP, IncN, IncW, IncQ and rolling circle plasmids of the pMV158 type in total DNA extracts from anthropogenic soils from India and Germany. Ten different soils from two different locations in Germany, the urban park Berlin Tiergarten and the abandoned sewage field Berlin-Buch, and from four different locations in India were analysed. PCR amplification of the total DNA extracts revealed the prevalence of IncP-specific sequences in Berlin Buch and Indian soil samples.