Horizontal gene transfer plays a major role in microbial evolution, allowing microbes to
acquire new genes and phenotypes. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs, aka …

Integrons are assembly platforms—DNA elements that acquire open reading frames
embedded in exogenous gene cassettes and convert them to functional genes by ensuring …

Filamentous bacteriophage, long and thin filaments that are secreted from the host cells
without killing them, have been an antithesis to the standard view of head-and-tail bacterial …

Integration, excision, and inversion of defined DNA segments commonly occur through site-
specific recombination, a process of DNA breakage and reunion that requires no DNA …

Abstract Bacteriophage (“bacteria eaters”) or phage is the collective term for viruses that
infect bacteria. While most phages are pathogens that kill their bacterial hosts, the …

The integron is a powerful system which, by capturing, stockpiling, and rearranging new
functions carried by gene encoding cassettes, confers upon bacteria a rapid adaptation …

Prokaryotes, bacteria and archaea, are the most abundant cellular organisms among those
sharing the planet Earth with human beings (among others). However, numerous ecological …

Understanding the genetic and ecological factors which support the emergence of new
clones of pathogenic bacteria is vital to develop preventive measures. Vibrio cholerae the …

Plasmids harbor genes coding for specific functions including virulence factors and antibiotic
resistance that permit bacteria to survive the hostile environment found in the host and resist …

Structured forms of DNA with intrastrand pairing are generated in several cellular processes
and are involved in biological functions. These structures may arise on single-stranded DNA …