The current epidemic of antibiotic resistance has been facilitated by the wide and rapid
horizontal dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in microbial communities …

Plasmids are key disseminators of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors, and
it is therefore critical to predict and reduce plasmid spread within microbial communities. The …

Plasmid persistence in bacterial populations is strongly influenced by the fitness effects
associated with plasmid carriage. However, plasmid fitness effects in wild-type bacterial …

Plasmid-mediated dissemination of antibiotic resistance among fecal Enterobacteriaceae in
natural ecosystems may contribute to the persistence of antibiotic resistance genes in …

It is difficult to understand plasmid maintenance in the absence of selection and theoretical
models predict the conditions for plasmid persistence to be limited. Plasmid-associated …

Conjugal plasmids can provide microbes with full complements of new genes and constitute
potent vehicles for horizontal gene transfer. Conjugal plasmid transfer is deemed …

Conjugative plasmids can mediate the spread and maintenance of diverse traits and
functions in microbial communities. This role depends on the plasmid's ability to persist in a …

Plasmids are the main vector by which antibiotic resistance is transferred between bacterial
cells within surface-associated communities. In this study, we ask whether there is an …

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

Plasmid acquisition is an important mechanism of rapid adaptation and niche expansion in
prokaryotes. Positive selection for plasmid-coded functions is a major driver of plasmid …