Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are versatile multiprotein nanomachines spanning the
entire cell envelope in Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria. They play important …

Bacterial conjugation is one of the main mechanisms for horizontal gene transfer. It
constitutes a key element in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes to …

Type IV secretion occurs across a wide range of prokaryotic cell envelopes: Gram-negative,
Gram-positive, cell wall-less bacteria and some archaea. This diversity is reflected in the …

Plasmids are universally present in bacteria and play key roles in the dissemination of
genes such as antibiotic resistance determinants. Major concepts in Plasmid Biology derive …

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated
transposases have the potential to transform the technology landscape for kilobase-scale …

Plasmids cannot be understood as mere tools for genetic exchange: they are themselves
subject to the forces of evolution. Their genomic and phylogenetic features have been less …

Conjugative relaxases are the proteins that initiate bacterial conjugation by a site-specific
cleavage of the transferred DNA strand. In vitro, they show strand-transferase activity on …

Plasmid pIP501 has a very broad host range for conjugative transfer among a wide variety of
gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative Escherichia coli. Functionality of the pIP501 …

Many multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens harbor large plasmids that encode proteins
conferring resistance to antibiotics. Although the acquisition of these plasmids often enables …

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs), also known as conjugative transposons, are
mobile genetic elements that can transfer from one bacterial cell to another by conjugation …