Timing of integration into the chromosome is critical for the fitness of an integrative and conjugative element and its bacterial host.

ABSTRACT: Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are major contributors to genome plasticity in bacteria. ICEs reside integrated in the chromosome of a host bacterium and are passively propagated during chromosome replication and cell division. When activated, ICEs excise from the chromosome and may be transferred through the ICE-encoded conjugation machinery into a recipient cell. Integration into the chromosome of the new host generates a stable transconjugant. Although integration into the chromosome of a new host is critical for the stable acquisition of ICEs, few studies have directly investigated the molecular events that occur in recipient cells during generation of a stable transconjugant. We found that integration of ICEBs1, an ICE of Bacillus subtilis, occurred several generations aft

SUBMITTER: McKeithen-Mead SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9956884 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature