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142 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
4,476 Views
13 Pages

Adaptive Evolution Compensated for the Plasmid Fitness Costs Brought by Specific Genetic Conflicts

  • Feifeng Li,
  • Jiong Wang,
  • Ying Jiang,
  • Yingyi Guo,
  • Ningjing Liu,
  • Shunian Xiao,
  • Likang Yao,
  • Jiahui Li,
  • Chuyue Zhuo and
  • Chao Zhuo
  • + 2 authors

13 January 2023

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-carrying IncX3 plasmids is important in the transmission of carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli. Fitness costs related to plasmid carriage are expected to limit gene exchange; however, the causes of these fit...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,665 Views
17 Pages

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar 4,[5],12:i:- is a monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium which has emerged as a world-wide distributed pathogen in the last decades. Several clones have been identified within this variant, the European c...

  • Review
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,418 Views
13 Pages

pCTX-M3 is the archetypic member of the IncM incompatibility group of conjugative plasmids (recently referred to as IncM2). It is responsible for the worldwide dissemination of numerous antibiotic resistance genes, including those coding for extended...

  • Review
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,229 Views
17 Pages

Plasmid Genomic Dynamics and One Health: Drivers of Antibiotic Resistance and Pathogenicity

  • Célia P. F. Domingues,
  • João S. Rebelo,
  • Francisco Dionisio and
  • Teresa Nogueira

18 October 2025

Seen through a One Health perspective, plasmids act as global links, connecting human, animal, and environmental microbiomes while broadening the ecological scope of resistance and virulence. By combining knowledge about plasmid classification, mobil...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,562 Views
20 Pages

Beyond the ABCs—Discovery of Three New Plasmid Types in Rhodobacterales (RepQ, RepY, RepW)

  • Heike M. Freese,
  • Victoria Ringel,
  • Jörg Overmann and
  • Jörn Petersen

Copiotrophic marine bacteria of the Roseobacter group (Rhodobacterales, Alphaproteobacteria) are characterized by a multipartite genome organization. We sequenced the genomes of Sulfitobacter indolifex DSM 14862T and four related plasmid-rich isolate...

  • Article
  • Open Access
670 Views
9 Pages

15 October 2025

Background/Objectives: The bacterium Brochothrix campestris is closely related to Brochothrix thermosphacta, a known food spoilage agent, and Listeria monocytogenes, the causative agent of listeriosis. B. campestris garnered attention several years a...

  • Review
  • Open Access
2 Citations
987 Views
7 Pages

Comparative genomics has revealed that variations in bacterial and archaeal genome DNA sequences cannot be explained by only neutral mutations. Virus resistance and plasmid distribution systems have resulted in changes in bacterial and archaeal genom...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
958 Views
16 Pages

Epidemiological Surveillance, Variability, and Evolution of Isolates Belonging to the Spanish Clone of the 4,[5],12:i:- Monophasic Variant of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

  • Xenia Vázquez,
  • Patricia García,
  • Javier Fernández,
  • Víctor Ladero,
  • Carlos Rodríguez-Lucas,
  • Jürgen J. Heinisch,
  • Rosaura Rodicio and
  • M. Rosario Rodicio

Background/Objective: The present study focused on the analysis of the Spanish clone belonging to the successful 4,[5],12:i:- monophasic variant of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Methods: All isolates of the clone recovered in a Spanish reg...

  • Review
  • Open Access
12 Citations
7,675 Views
17 Pages

A Tale about Shigella: Evolution, Plasmid, and Virulence

  • Nathaline Haidar-Ahmad,
  • France Ourida Manigat,
  • Navoun Silué,
  • Stéphanie M. Pontier and
  • François-Xavier Campbell-Valois

Shigella spp. cause hundreds of millions of intestinal infections each year. They target the mucosa of the human colon and are an important model of intracellular bacterial pathogenesis. Shigella is a pathovar of Escherichia coli that is characterize...

  • Article
  • Open Access
25 Citations
5,658 Views
16 Pages

Evolution of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Their Redox Partners in Archaea

  • Phelelani Erick Ngcobo,
  • Bridget Valeria Zinhle Nkosi,
  • Wanping Chen,
  • David R. Nelson and
  • Khajamohiddin Syed

19 February 2023

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs/P450s) and their redox partners, ferredoxins, are ubiquitous in organisms. P450s have been studied in biology for over six decades owing to their distinct catalytic activities, including their role in drug metabol...

  • Article
  • Open Access
24 Citations
8,130 Views
16 Pages

Potential for Applying Continuous Directed Evolution to Plant Enzymes: An Exploratory Study

  • Jorge D. García-García,
  • Jaya Joshi,
  • Jenelle A. Patterson,
  • Lidimarie Trujillo-Rodriguez,
  • Christopher R. Reisch,
  • Alex A. Javanpour,
  • Chang C. Liu and
  • Andrew D. Hanson

5 September 2020

Plant evolution has produced enzymes that may not be optimal for maximizing yield and quality in today’s agricultural environments and plant biotechnology applications. By improving enzyme performance, it should be possible to alleviate constra...

  • Review
  • Open Access
10 Citations
5,194 Views
20 Pages

The management of infectious diseases has proven to be a daunting task for clinicians worldwide, and the rapid development of antibiotic resistance among Gram-negative bacteria is making it even more challenging. The first-line therapy is empirical,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,024 Views
21 Pages

21 September 2023

The tfd (tfdI and tfdII) are gene clusters originally discovered in plasmid pJP4 which are involved in the bacterial degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) via the ortho-cleavage pathway of chlorinated catechols. They share this activi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
2,940 Views
20 Pages

The Impact of Urban Pollution on Plasmid-Mediated Resistance Acquisition in Enterobacteria from a Tropical River

  • Bradd Mendoza-Guido,
  • Kenia Barrantes,
  • César Rodríguez,
  • Keilor Rojas-Jimenez and
  • Maria Arias-Andres

14 November 2024

Background: The exposure of environmental bacteria to contaminants in aquatic ecosystems accelerates the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Methods: In this study, we sampled three locations al...

  • Article
  • Open Access
17 Citations
6,433 Views
15 Pages

4 September 2021

Microbial life can be supported at subzero temperatures in permafrost up to several million years old. Genome analysis of strains isolated from permafrost provides a unique opportunity to study microorganisms that have not previously come into contac...

  • Article
  • Open Access
16 Citations
5,165 Views
12 Pages

Multi-Drug Resistance in Bacterial Genomes—A Comprehensive Bioinformatic Analysis

  • Célia P. F. Domingues,
  • João S. Rebelo,
  • Francisco Dionisio and
  • Teresa Nogueira

Antimicrobial resistance is presently one of the greatest threats to public health. The excessive and indiscriminate use of antibiotics imposes a continuous selective pressure that triggers the emergence of multi-drug resistance. We performed a large...

  • Article
  • Open Access
14 Citations
5,344 Views
20 Pages

The Nature and Extent of Plasmid Variation in Chlamydia trachomatis

  • Charlotte A. Jones,
  • James Hadfield,
  • Nicholas R. Thomson,
  • David W. Cleary,
  • Peter Marsh,
  • Ian N. Clarke and
  • Colette E. O’Neill

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen of humans, causing both the sexually transmitted infection, chlamydia, and the most common cause of infectious blindness, trachoma. The majority of sequenced C. trachomatis clinical isolates...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
10,079 Views
18 Pages

The emergence of pathogenic strains resistant to multiple antimicrobials is a pressing problem in modern healthcare. Antimicrobial resistance is mediated primarily by dissemination of resistance determinants via horizontal gene transfer. The dissemin...

  • Article
  • Open Access
26 Citations
8,038 Views
24 Pages

Are Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance Genes Linked? A Comprehensive Analysis of Bacterial Chromosomes and Plasmids

  • Helena Darmancier,
  • Célia P. F. Domingues,
  • João S. Rebelo,
  • Ana Amaro,
  • Francisco Dionísio,
  • Joël Pothier,
  • Octávio Serra and
  • Teresa Nogueira

Although pathogenic bacteria are the targets of antibiotics, these drugs also affect hundreds of commensal or mutualistic species. Moreover, the use of antibiotics is not only restricted to the treatment of infections but is also largely applied in a...

  • Review
  • Open Access
8 Citations
1,983 Views
11 Pages

The selective pressure imposed by the use of antimicrobials in both human and veterinary medicine promotes the spread of multiple antimicrobial resistance. The dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica strains, causing severe...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
4,693 Views
29 Pages

The Plasmidomic Landscape of Clinical Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Malaysia

  • Esra’a I. Al-Trad,
  • Ching Hoong Chew,
  • Ainal Mardziah Che Hamzah,
  • Zarizal Suhaili,
  • Nor Iza A. Rahman,
  • Salwani Ismail,
  • Suat Moi Puah,
  • Kek Heng Chua,
  • Stephen M. Kwong and
  • Chew Chieng Yeo

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a priority nosocomial pathogen with plasmids playing a crucial role in its genetic adaptability, particularly in the acquisition and spread of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, the genome s...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,694 Views
16 Pages

Molecular Characterization of pBOq-IncQ and pBOq-95LK Plasmids of Escherichia coli BOq 01, a New Isolated Strain from Poultry Farming, Involved in Antibiotic Resistance

  • Armando Hernández-Mendoza,
  • Rosalba Salgado-Morales,
  • Abimael Morán-Vázquez,
  • David López-Torres,
  • Blanca Inés García-Gómez and
  • Edgar Dantán-González

The increase in antimicrobial resistance has raised questions about how to use these drugs safely, especially in veterinary medicine, animal nutrition, and agriculture. Escherichia coli is an important human and animal pathogen that frequently contai...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
3,294 Views
16 Pages

5 November 2023

Plasmids mediate gene exchange across taxonomic barriers through conjugation, shaping bacterial evolution for billions of years. While plasmid mobility can be harnessed for genetic engineering and drug-delivery applications, rapid plasmid-mediated sp...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
3,636 Views
13 Pages

Functional Identification and Evolutionary Analysis of Two Novel Plasmids Mediating Quinolone Resistance in Proteus vulgaris

  • Hongyang Zhang,
  • Mingding Chang,
  • Xiaochen Zhang,
  • Peiyan Cai,
  • Yixin Dai,
  • Tongzhen Song,
  • Zhenzhou Wu,
  • Haijin Xu and
  • Mingqiang Qiao

Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) remains one of the main mechanisms of bacterial quinolone resistance and plays an important role in the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, two novel plasmids, p3M-2A and p3M...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
4,735 Views
13 Pages

The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae poses a significant threat to public health. In this study, we aimed to investigate the distribution and genetic diversity of plasmids carrying beta-lactamase resistance determinants in a co...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,429 Views
16 Pages

Even though viruses and plasmids are both drivers of horizontal gene transfer, they differ fundamentally in their mode of transfer. Virus genomes are enclosed in virus capsids and are not dependent on cell-to-cell contacts for their dissemination. In...

  • Article
  • Open Access
19 Citations
9,575 Views
21 Pages

15 April 2014

The global clustering of gene families through network analysis has been demonstrated in whole genome, plasmid, and microbiome analyses. In this study, we carried out a plasmidome network analysis of all available complete bacterial plasmids to deter...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
4,967 Views
23 Pages

Plasmidome of Listeria spp.—The repA-Family Business

  • Cora Chmielowska,
  • Dorota Korsak,
  • Elvira Chapkauskaitse,
  • Przemysław Decewicz,
  • Robert Lasek,
  • Magdalena Szuplewska and
  • Dariusz Bartosik

25 September 2021

Bacteria of the genus Listeria (phylum Firmicutes) include both human and animal pathogens, as well as saprophytic strains. A common component of Listeria spp. genomes are plasmids, i.e., extrachromosomal replicons that contribute to gene flux in bac...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
6,093 Views
13 Pages

11 August 2019

QuickStep is a cloning method that allows seamless point integration of a DNA sequence at any position within a target plasmid using only Q5 High-Fidelity DNA Polymerase and DpnI endonuclease. This efficient and cost-effective method consists of two...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
3,044 Views
16 Pages

Use of traC Gene to Type the Incidence and Distribution of pXFAS_5235 Plasmid-Bearing Strains of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa ST1 in Spain

  • María Pilar Velasco-Amo,
  • Luis F. Arias-Giraldo,
  • Concepción Olivares-García,
  • Nicolás Denancé,
  • Marie-Agnès Jacques and
  • Blanca B. Landa

13 June 2022

Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a phytopathogenic bacterium with a repertoire of self-replicating genetic elements, including plasmids, pathogenicity islands, and prophages. These elements provide potential avenues for horizontal gene transfer both within...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
8,087 Views
9 Pages

Beta-lactams are commonly used antibiotics that prevent cell-wall biosynthesis. Beta-lactam sensitive bacteria can acquire conjugative resistance elements and hence become resistant even after being exposed to lethal (above minimum inhibitory) antibi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
6,546 Views
10 Pages

Z/I1 Hybrid Virulence Plasmids Carrying Antimicrobial Resistance genes in S. Typhimurium from Australian Food Animal Production

  • Ethan R. Wyrsch,
  • Jane Hawkey,
  • Louise M. Judd,
  • Ruth Haites,
  • Kathryn E. Holt,
  • Steven P. Djordjevic and
  • Helen Billman-Jacobe

Knowledge of mobile genetic elements that capture and disseminate antimicrobial resistance genes between diverse environments, particularly across human–animal boundaries, is key to understanding the role anthropogenic activities have in the ev...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,852 Views
12 Pages

Genetically Encoded Biosensor-Based Screening for Directed Bacteriophage T4 Lysozyme Evolution

  • Seung-Gyun Woo,
  • Seong Keun Kim,
  • Baek-Rock Oh,
  • Seung-Goo Lee and
  • Dae-Hee Lee

17 November 2020

Lysozyme is widely used as a model protein in studies of structure–function relationships. Recently, lysozyme has gained attention for use in accelerating the degradation of secondary sludge, which mainly consists of bacteria. However, a high-t...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
2,473 Views
15 Pages

Despite the increased reporting of Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKp) in Egypt, there is a paucity of information regarding the molecular characteristics of such strains. Herein, we present the genome sequence of two C...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4,512 Views
18 Pages

Cell-to-Cell Natural Transformation Mediated Efficient Plasmid Transfer Between Bacillus Species

  • Chao Wang,
  • Rui Zhao,
  • Wenjie Yang,
  • Wanting Jiang,
  • Hao Tang,
  • Shishen Du and
  • Xiangdong Chen

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays a pivotal role in bacterial evolution, shaping the genetic diversity of bacterial populations. It can occur through mechanisms such as conjugation, transduction, and natural transformation. Bacillus subtilis, a mo...

  • Review
  • Open Access
37 Citations
8,502 Views
11 Pages

16 April 2018

The pathogen Agrobacterium induces gall formation on a wide range of dicotyledonous plants. In this bacteria, most pathogenicity determinants are borne on the tumour inducing (Ti) plasmid. The conjugative transfer of this plasmid between agrobacteria...

  • Article
  • Open Access
30 Citations
4,920 Views
14 Pages

20 December 2018

The plasmid-mediated extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and AmpC β-lactamases in Enterobacter spp. have increasingly been reported. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of the plasmid-mediated β-lactamases in Enterobacter ...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,648 Views
23 Pages

Comparison of IncK-blaCMY-2 Plasmids in Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolated from Poultry and Humans in Denmark, Finland, and Germany

  • Meiyao Che,
  • Ana Herrero Fresno,
  • Cristina Calvo-Fernandez,
  • Henrik Hasman,
  • Paula E. Kurittu,
  • Annamari Heikinheimo and
  • Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen

Escherichia coli carrying IncK-blaCMY-2 plasmids mediating resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) has been frequently described in food-producing animals and in humans. This study aimed to characterize IncK-blaCMY-2-positive ESC-resista...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
4,080 Views
16 Pages

Recently, Egypt has witnessed the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae, which has posed a serious healthcare challenge. The accelerated dissemination of blaCTX-M genes among these MDR K. pneumoniae, particularly blaCTX-M-14 an...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,077 Views
17 Pages

The World Health Organization (WHO) cites antimicrobial resistance as among the greatest threats to human health. The multidrug-resistant pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, recognized as a priority pathogen for healthcare and research, is responsible...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
916 Views
20 Pages

Genomic Characterization and Resistance Mechanisms of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae ST101 Isolates from Saudi Arabia

  • Enaam K. Idrees,
  • Manal M. Alkhulaifi,
  • Marwh G. Aldriwesh,
  • Nasser Alqurainy,
  • Liliane Okdah,
  • Abdulrahman A. Alswaji,
  • Eisa T. Alrashidi,
  • Alhanouf S. Alshahrani,
  • Sameera M. Al Johani and
  • Majed F. Alghoribi
  • + 2 authors

27 November 2025

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) represents a critical global health threat, with ST101 identified as a major circulating clone in Saudi Arabia. We used whole genome sequencing and plasmid reconstruction to investigate the molecular...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
6,117 Views
13 Pages

12 October 2015

Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a widely used model organism in basic research and biofuel biotechnology application. Here, we report the genomic sequence of chromosome and seven plasmids of a glucose-tolerant, non-motile strain originat...

  • Review
  • Open Access
102 Citations
10,289 Views
28 Pages

The Obscure World of Integrative and Mobilizable Elements, Highly Widespread Elements that Pirate Bacterial Conjugative Systems

  • Gérard Guédon,
  • Virginie Libante,
  • Charles Coluzzi,
  • Sophie Payot and
  • Nathalie Leblond-Bourget

22 November 2017

Conjugation is a key mechanism of bacterial evolution that involves mobile genetic elements. Recent findings indicated that the main actors of conjugative transfer are not the well-known conjugative or mobilizable plasmids but are the integrated elem...

  • Review
  • Open Access
6 Citations
3,484 Views
11 Pages

3 March 2024

Prokaryotic genomes are dynamic tapestries that are strongly influenced by mobile genetic elements (MGEs), including transposons (Tn’s), plasmids, and bacteriophages. Of these, miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are undoubt...

  • Review
  • Open Access
45 Citations
13,152 Views
25 Pages

Molecular Mechanisms of Drug Resistance and Epidemiology of Multidrug-Resistant Variants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

  • Beata Mlynarczyk-Bonikowska,
  • Cezary Kowalewski,
  • Aneta Krolak-Ulinska and
  • Wojciech Marusza

10 September 2022

The paper presents various issues related to the increasing drug resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and the occurrence and spread of multidrug-resistant clones. One of the most important is the incidence and evolution of resistance mechanisms of N. ...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,426 Views
15 Pages

Detection of Possible Resistance Mechanisms in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Kidney Transplant Recipients Based on Whole Genome Sequencing

  • Soraya Herrera-Espejo,
  • Alejandro Rubio,
  • Lucía Ceballos-Romero,
  • Jerónimo Pachón,
  • Elisa Cordero,
  • Antonio J. Pérez-Pulido and
  • María Eugenia Pachón-Ibáñez

11 February 2025

Background: Urinary tract infections are a global health concern, with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) accounting for 80–90% of cases. Given the rise in antimicrobial resistance, our aim was to elucidate the genetic mechanisms behind low-...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
3,415 Views
12 Pages

Global Variation in Escherichia coli mcr-1 Genes and Plasmids from Animal and Human Genomes Following Colistin Usage Restrictions in Livestock

  • Biel Garcias,
  • Mayra Alejandra Flores,
  • Mercedes Fernández,
  • William Monteith,
  • Ben Pascoe,
  • Samuel K. Sheppard,
  • Marga Martín,
  • Martí Cortey and
  • Laila Darwich

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global health threat, with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial clones becoming a major concern. Polymyxins, especially colistin, have reemerged as last-resort treatments for MDR Gram-negative infections...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,504 Views
23 Pages

Whole-Genome Sequence Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance, Virulence, and Plasmid Dynamics in Multidrug-Resistant E. coli Isolates from Imported Shrimp

  • Kidon Sung,
  • Mohamed Nawaz,
  • Miseon Park,
  • Jungwhan Chon,
  • Saeed A. Khan,
  • Khulud Alotaibi,
  • Javier Revollo,
  • Jaime A. Miranda and
  • Ashraf A. Khan

5 June 2024

We analyzed antimicrobial resistance and virulence traits in multidrug-resistant (MDR) E. coli isolates obtained from imported shrimp using whole-genome sequences (WGSs). Antibiotic resistance profiles were determined phenotypically. WGSs identified...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,877 Views
16 Pages

Acaryochloris is a marine cyanobacterium that synthesizes chlorophyll d, a unique chlorophyll that absorbs far-red lights. Acaryochloris is also characterized by the loss of phycobiliprotein (PBP), a photosynthetic antenna specific to cyanobacteria;...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
3,465 Views
18 Pages

Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis Isolated from Archival Bone Samples Reveals Earlier Natural History of the Pathogen

  • Michael H. Norris,
  • Diansy Zincke,
  • David J. Daegling,
  • John Krigbaum,
  • W. Scott McGraw,
  • Alexander Kirpich,
  • Ted L. Hadfield and
  • Jason K. Blackburn

20 August 2023

(1) Background: Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) was the causative agent of an anthrax-like fatal disease among wild chimpanzees in 2001 in Côte d’Ivoire. Before this, there had not been any description of an anthrax-like disease...

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