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DNA Bacteriophages01:26

DNA Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically infect bacteria, utilizing their genetic material to hijack host cellular machinery for replication. DNA bacteriophages employ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes. These phages exhibit diverse replication strategies and host interactions, influencing their ecological roles and applications in biotechnology and medicine.ssDNA BacteriophagesssDNA phages, with their small genomes, utilize unique strategies to...
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Do phages efficiently shuttle transposable elements among prokaryotes?

Sébastien Leclercq1, Richard Cordaux

  • 1Université de Poitiers, UMR CNRS 6556 Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, 40 Avenue du Recteur Pineau, Poitiers, France.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|October 26, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Insertion sequences (IS) are common in plasmids but rare in phages due to strong purifying selection in phages. This suggests phages are poor vectors for IS horizontal transfer (HT), challenging the conventional view.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Insertion sequences (IS) are the most common prokaryotic transposable elements.
  • IS horizontal transfer (HT) is crucial for their distribution, dynamics, and evolution.
  • Phages and plasmids are traditionally considered the primary vectors for IS HT.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relative abundance of IS in phage and plasmid genomes.
  • To determine the role of phages and plasmids as vectors for IS horizontal transfer (HT).
  • To understand the selective pressures acting on IS within different mobile genetic elements.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative genomic analysis of IS distribution.
  • Examination of IS frequency in 454 plasmid genomes.
  • Analysis of IS frequency in 446 phage genomes.

Main Results:

  • IS are highly frequent in plasmids.
  • IS are surprisingly rare in phages.
  • Strong postinsertional purifying selection in phages, due to a higher density of deleterious insertion sites, explains IS rarity.

Conclusions:

  • Phages are likely poor vectors for IS horizontal transfer (HT) in prokaryotes.
  • The conventional view of phages as major IS vectors is challenged.
  • Purifying selection significantly impacts IS dynamics within different mobile genetic elements.