In article <DGLFD2.HsE at utu.fi> Monica.Osterblad at utu.fi writes:
(previous postings deleted)>>>
>True, but also remember that plasmids have their own mechanisms for
>spreading laterally, that is, by conjugation to other bacteria. And
>they don't like competition from related plasmids either:
>incompatibility. What it all adds up to, is that plasmids sort of
>have a life of their own, too. They are not only just tools for
>their "host" bacteria - although they are that too.
>Could one say that they in a way are symbiontic "viruses"?
>>>Monica
I wouldn't say symbiotic viruses, but molecular symbionts would
probably be closer. Some bacterial viruses (bacteriophages)
do exist as plasmids in the lysogenic state - P1 is a good
example of this.
George
