Bacteria, the most abundant organisms on the planet, are outnumbered by a factor of 10 to 1
by phages that infect them. Faced with the rapid evolution and turnover of phage particles …

Lateral gene transfer has played a prominent role in bacterial evolution, but the mechanisms
allowing bacteria to tolerate the acquisition of foreign DNA have been incompletely defined …

Elongating RNA polymerases (RNAPs) can interfere with transcription from downstream
promoters by inhibiting DNA binding by RNAP and activators. However, combining …

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses recent discoveries in this field, with special
emphasis on molecular systems operating to sense the current status of the host physiology …

Bacteriophage λ, rediscovered in the early 1950s, has served as a model in molecular
biology studies for decades. Although currently more complex organisms and more …

Type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are classically composed of two genes that encode a
toxic protein and a cognate antitoxin protein. Both genes are organized in an operon whose …

Lytic or lysogenic infections by bacteriophages drive the evolution of enteric bacteria.
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) have recently emerged as a significant zoonotic …

Synthesizing engineered bacteriophages (phages) for human use has potential in various
applications ranging from drug screening using a phage display to clinical use using phage …

The rise in the frequency of antibiotic resistance has made bacterial infections, specifically
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a cause for greater concern. Phage therapy is a promising …

With the increasing utilization of plasmid DNA as a biopharmaceutical drug, there is a
rapidly growing need for high quality plasmid DNA for drug applications. Although there are …