Abstract
CONJUGATION and gene transfer in E. coli and other Enterobacteria depend on the formation by donor cells of specialized filaments which may be the channel by which genes pass to the recipient1. These “sex pili” fall into two principal classes: “F pili” determined by the F sex factor1 and by related F-like sex factors2 found in fi+ drug resistance (R) factors and colicin (Col) factors V and B; and “I pili” determined by the I sex factors of ColIa-CA53, ColIb-P9, ColEla and fi− R factors2,3. The two classes of sex pilus seem to be distinct in many respects2, and this lack of relationship is further emphasized by the failure of an intact sex factor of one class to complement a mutant factor of the alternative class in pilus synthesis.
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MEYNELL, G., AUFREITER, E. Functional Independence of F and I Sex Pili. Nature 223, 1069 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2231069a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2231069a0
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