Listeria monocytogenes consists of at least 4 evolutionary lineages (I, II, III, and IV) with
different but overlapping ecological niches. Most L. monocytogenes isolates seem to belong …

Horizontal genetic transfer (HGT) has played an important role in bacterial evolution at least
since the origins of the bacterial divisions, and HGT still facilitates the origins of bacterial …

Rearrangement hotspot (Rhs) and related YD-peptide repeat proteins are widely distributed
in bacteria and eukaryotes, but their functions are poorly understood. Here, we show that …

Genetic exchange plays a defining role in the evolution of many bacteria. The recent
accumulation of nucleotide sequence data from multiple members of diverse bacterial …

All free‐living bacteria carry the toxin–antitoxin (TA) systems controlling cell growth and
death under stress conditions. YeeU–YeeV (CbtA) is one of the Escherichia coli TA systems …

There is growing interest in reconstructing phylogenies from the copious amounts of
genome sequencing projects that target related viral, bacterial or eukaryotic organisms. To …

The field of molecular ecology has expanded enormously in the past two decades, largely
because of the growing ease with which neutral molecular genetic data can be obtained …

Background Microbes engage in a remarkable array of cooperative behaviors, secreting
shared proteins that are essential for foraging, shelter, microbial warfare, and virulence …

Phenotypic biotyping has traditionally been used to differentiate bacteria occupying distinct
ecological niches such as host species. For example, the capacity of Staphylococcus aureus …

Bacteria and archaea reproduce clonally, but sporadically import DNA into their
chromosomes from other organisms. In many of these events, the imported DNA replaces an …