How does Clostridium perfringens carry multiple closely related plasmids?

The project aims to determine how bacteria are able to replicate and maintain multiple copies of very closely
related extrachromosomal elements or plasmids in the same cell. These plasmids are important as they encode
toxin genes and antibiotic resistance genes. The research proposes to examine two fundamental hypotheses that
are postulated to explain this novel phenomenon. The anticipated outcome of the project is the advancement of
fundamental knowledge of how bacteria that cause disease in food production animals can maintain the genetic
elements that enable them to cause these diseases, thereby contributing to our understanding of the
epidemiology of these economically significant animal pathogens.