Effect of lipopolysaccharide mutations and temperature on plasmid transformation efficiency in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

We have isolated, and characterized electrophoretically, two new lipopolysaccharide-defective (rough) mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO. These strains, AK1401 and AK1414, together with two previously characterized isolates, AK1012 and AK1282, were used as recipients in transformation experiments with plasmid pR01614 DNA. The roughest mutant, AK1282, was not transformable, while the transformation efficiency of AK1012, and to a lesser extent the wild-type strain, was dependent upon the growth temperature. The two new isolates which are less rough than AK1012 were transformed at a frequency equivalent to that of the wild type-strain.