Strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, particularly those that are multiresistant, are an
increasing major health care problem around the world. It is now abundantly clear that both …

Bacterial conjugation, also referred to as bacterial sex, is a major horizontal gene transfer
mechanism through which DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient bacterium by direct …

Continuous evolution can generate biomolecules for synthetic biology and enable
evolutionary investigation. The orthogonal DNA replication system (OrthoRep) in yeast can …

Plasmids mediate the horizontal transmission of genetic information between bacteria,
facilitating their adaptation to multiple environmental conditions. An especially important …

Argonaute (Ago) proteins are found in all three domains of life. The so-called long Agos are
composed of four major domains (N, PAZ, MID and PIWI) and contribute to RNA silencing in …

Carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have been listed by the WHO as high‐
priority pathogens owing to their high association with mortalities and morbidities …

Escherichia coli is one of the organisms of choice for the production of recombinant proteins.
Its use as a cell factory is well-established and it has become the most popular expression …

Plasmids are important “vehicles” for the communication of genetic information between
bacteria. The exchange of plasmids transmits pathogenically and environmentally relevant …

John Dupré explores recent revolutionary developments in biology and considers their
relevance for our understanding of human nature and human society. Epigenetics and …

Bacterial plasmids play a large role in allowing bacteria to adapt to changing environments
and can pose a significant risk to human health if they confer virulence and antimicrobial …