Insertion sequences (ISs), arguably the smallest and most numerous autonomous
transposable elements (TEs), are important players in shaping their host genomes. This …

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of antimicrobial and health care-
associated diarrhea in humans, presenting a significant burden to global health care …

Bacterial genomes are remarkably stable from one generation to the next but are plastic on
an evolutionary time scale, substantially shaped by horizontal gene transfer, genome …

Horizontal transfer of genomic islands (GEIs), that is, chromosomal regions encoding
functions that can be advantageous for the host, plays a key role in bacterial evolution, but …

We have divided this review into two major sections. In one, we have attempted to present
an overview of our current understanding of prokaryotic insertion sequences (IS), their …

Rates and severity of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hospitals in North America and
Europe have increased since 2000 and correlate with dissemination of an epidemic strain …

Antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria are responsible for morbidity and mortality in
healthcare environments. Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus …

We have investigated to what extent natural transformation acting on free DNA substrates
can facilitate transfer of mobile elements including transposons, integrons and/or gene …

Conjugation is a key mechanism of bacterial evolution that involves mobile genetic
elements. Recent findings indicated that the main actors of conjugative transfer are not the …

The symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection are caused by toxins expressed from its 19 kb
pathogenicity locus (PaLoc). Stable integration of the PaLoc is suggested by its single …