Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is arguably the most conspicuous feature of bacterial
evolution. Evidence for HGT is found in most bacterial genomes. Although HGT can …

Studying within-species variation has traditionally been limited to culturable bacterial
isolates and low-resolution microbial community fingerprinting. Metagenomic sequencing …

Industrialization has impacted the human gut ecosystem, resulting in altered microbiome
composition and diversity. Whether bacterial genomes may also adapt to the …

Literature covered: early 2000s to late 2017 Bacteria frequently exchange metabolites with
other micro-and macro-organisms. In these often obligate cross-feeding interactions, primary …

Since the first genome-scale comparisons, it has been evident that the genomes of many
species are unbound by strict vertical descent: Large differences in gene content can occur …

As one of the few cellular traits that can be quantified across the tree of life, DNA-replication
fidelity provides an excellent platform for understanding fundamental evolutionary …

The recent increase in genomic data is revealing an unexpected perspective of gene loss as
a pervasive source of genetic variation that can cause adaptive phenotypic diversity. This …

Background Antibacterial biocides and metals can co-select for antibiotic resistance when
bacteria harbour resistance or tolerance genes towards both types of compounds. Despite …

Conjugation drives the horizontal transfer of adaptive traits across prokaryotes. One-fourth of
the plasmids encode the functions necessary to conjugate autonomously, the others being …

Studying the microbial composition of internal organs and their associations with disease
remains challenging due to the difficulty of acquiring clinical biopsies. We designed a …