%0 Journal Article %A Rochelle, Paul A. %A Day, Martin J. %A Fry, John C. %T Occurrence, Transfer and Mobilization in Epilithic Strains of Acinetobacter of Mercury-resistance Plasmids Capable of Transformation %D 1988 %J Microbiology, %V 134 %N 11 %P 2933-2941 %@ 1465-2080 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-134-11-2933 %I Microbiology Society, %X A 7·8 kb plasmid (pQM17) encoding mercury resistance was isolated from two epilithic strains of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. The plasmid had a broad host range when mobilized by RP1, transferring into Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. putida, P. fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and Chromobacterium sp. with frequencies ranging from 5·3 × 10−9 to 4·6 × 10−4 per recipient. The plasmid could be transferred into A. calcoaceticus BD413 using intact cells of donor and recipient bacteria (i.e. natural transformation) and there was a broad temperature optimum (14–37 °C) for transformation. Transformation was as efficient in liquid matings as on plates but there was no effect of pH in the range 5·6–7·9. Maximum transformation frequencies were obtained after 24 h on agar plates containing 3·5–10 g C1−1 with donor to recipient ratios ranging from 6 to 415. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-134-11-2933