Viruses are ubiquitous parasites of cellular life and the most abundant biological entities on
Earth. It is widely accepted that viruses are polyphyletic, but a consensus scenario for their …

Originally, viruses were defined as miniscule infectious agents that passed through filters
that retain even the smallest cells. Subsequently, viruses were considered obligate …

Plasmids can mediate horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance, virulence genes, and
other adaptive factors across bacterial populations. Here, we analyze genomic composition …

Viruses are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on earth, and while most of
this diversity remains completely unexplored, advances in genome sequencing have …

All cellular life forms are afflicted by diverse genetic parasites, including viruses and other
types of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and have evolved multiple, diverse defence …

Evolution of bacteria and archaea involves an incessant arms race against an enormous
diversity of genetic parasites. Accordingly, a substantial fraction of the genes in most …

We apply the theory of learning to physically renormalizable systems in an attempt to outline
a theory of biological evolution, including the origin of life, as multilevel learning. We …

Viruses and mobile genetic elements are molecular parasites or symbionts that coevolve
with nearly all forms of cellular life. The route of virus replication and protein expression is …

Cooperation exists across all scales of biological organization, from genetic elements to
complex human societies. Bacteria cooperate by secreting molecules that benefit all …

Salmonella Infantis is one of the five serovars most frequently causing human salmonellosis
in Europe, mainly associated with poultry. A clone harbouring a conjugative plasmid of …