Transfer to the Indigenous Community
The capability to measure transformation of DNA in natural
microbial communities has challenged investigators for
years. Nearly all such attempts have used closed
microcosms. However, the work of Day and Fry (Williams
et al., 1992; Williams et al., 1996) is unique in that an
indigenous mercury resistance plasmid (pQM17) was used
in the river from which it was isolated in open filter matings.
Stones with filters containing the donors or DNA were
placed next to stones containing recipients. Transfer
occurred with frequencies ranging from 10-6 to 10-4 per
recipient. A significant effect of temperature was observed,
with no transfer below 10 °C.