Plasmid Fusion and Recombination Events That Occurred during Conjugation of poxtA -Carrying Plasmids in Enterococci

Until now, all the poxtA genes described in enterococci, including E. faecalis , E. faecium , and E. hirae , are plasmid-borne, suggesting that plasmids play an important role in the dissemination of the poxtA gene among enterococci. This study showed that the mobilizable poxtA -carrying plasmid could transfer with the help of conjugative plasmid in enterococci via plasmid fusion, with one generated by homologous recombination in E. faecalis , and another by replicative transposition in E. lactis .