incomplibity of plasmids

[padma]

hi,
I m M.Sc student (M.Biotechnology)
i want to know how is the mechanism used by plasmids to survive among a group of plasmid.how one plasmid can inhibit the growth of other.
padma

[padma]

mechanism of incomplibity in plasmids

[jtendres]

I know that some plasmids do replication faster than others. Also, the plasmids I have made for expression vectors will replicate slower than the wild type ones.
- Josie, undergrad @ UCD

[admin]

Yes Josie is right also.

Smaller plasmids replicate faster, are easier to replicate as well and are more likely to be kept.

Also plasmids that have benefits for the bacteria in the niche they grow in will be kept.
Also, bacteria tend to lose those plasmids that negatively influence their growth in a niche (this maybe for example a big plasmid that has no use for the bacteria).

In artificial environments like a petri dish with antibiotics, bacteria with plasmids that can grow in the presence of that antibiotic (eg Amp-resistance) will keep that plasmid to survive (or at least we select for them! ).