@article{mbs:/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-123-1-129, author = "Helling Robert, B. and Kinney, Thomas and Adams, Julian", title = "The Maintenance of Plasmid-containing Organisms in Populations of Escherichia coli", journal= "Microbiology", year = "1981", volume = "123", number = "1", pages = "129-141", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-123-1-129", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-123-1-129", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2080", type = "Journal Article", abstract = "Populations of Escherichia coli containing a small non-conjugative plasmid were grown in carbon-limited continuous culture. For all plasmids tested the presence of the plasmid lowered the growth rate of the host bacterium, and the proportion of plasmid-containing organisms in the total population declined initially. However, periodically, adaptive changes occurred in plasmid-containing organisms which increased their growth rate. This resulted in oscillations in the proportion of plasmid-containing organisms, and the delayed loss of the plasmid from the population.", }