The contamination of water is a significant problem globally, for the spreading of pathogens
and parasites causing infectious diseases, and the chemicals might be non-innocuous in the …

There is remarkable variation in the rate at which genetic incompatibilities in molecular
interactions accumulate. In some cases, minor changes—even single-nucleotide …

Gene-by-environment interactions play a crucial role in horizontal gene transfer by affecting
how the transferred genes alter host fitness. However, how the environment modulates the …

The emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria is a major threat to modern medicine. Rapid
adaptation to antibiotics is often mediated by the acquisition of plasmids carrying antibiotic …

Natural microbial ecosystems harbor substantial diversity of competing species. Explaining
such diversity is challenging, because in classic theories it is extremely infeasible for a large …

Extra-chromosomal genetic elements are important drivers of evolutionary transformations
and ecological adaptations in prokaryotes with their evolutionary success often depending …

Bacterial transformation, a common mechanism of horizontal gene transfer, can speed up
adaptive evolution. How its costs and benefits depend on the growth environment is poorly …

Plasmids are key drivers of bacterial evolution because they are crucial agents for the
horizontal transfer of adaptive traits, such as antibiotic resistance. Most plasmids entail a …

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a major contributor to bacterial genome evolution,
generating phenotypic diversity, driving the expansion of protein families, and facilitating the …

Prolines cause ribosomes to stall during translation due to their rigid structure. This
phenomenon occurs in all domains of life and is exacerbated at polyproline motifs. Such …