Functional and genetic characterisation of Tcp plasmid maintenance and conjugation systems in Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens (italics) is an important pathogen in both humans and animals. The disease-causing capabilities of this bacterium lie in its arsenal of 20 or more toxins and enzymes, many of which are located on DNA elements called plasmids. This study investigates how these plasmids transfer between C. perfringens (italics) cells and how they are maintained within this bacterium. This work has characterised two systems that are essential for plasmid maintenance in C. perfringens (italics) and has identified two new components of the plasmid transfer system. This work has also used super-resolution microscopy to map the location of components of the plasmid transfer system on the bacterial cell.