What makes a megaplasmid?

Hall, James PJ ORCID: 0000-0002-4896-4592, Botelho, Joao, Cazares, Adrian and Baltrus, David A (2022) What makes a megaplasmid? PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 377 (1842). 20200472-.

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Abstract

Naturally occurring plasmids come in different sizes. The smallest are less than a kilobase of DNA, while the largest can be over three orders of magnitude larger. Historically, research has tended to focus on smaller plasmids that are usually easier to isolate, manipulate and sequence, but with improved genome assemblies made possible by long-read sequencing, there is increased appreciation that very large plasmids-known as megaplasmids-are widespread, diverse, complex, and often encode key traits in the biology of their host microorganisms. Why are megaplasmids so big? What other features come with large plasmid size that could affect bacterial ecology and evolution? Are megaplasmids 'just' big plasmids, or do they have distinct characteristics? In this perspective, we reflect on the distribution, diversity, biology, and gene content of megaplasmids, providing an overview to these large, yet often overlooked, mobile genetic elements. This article is part of the theme issue 'The secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements'.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	plasmid, megaplasmid, mobile genetic element, genome evolution, horizontal gene transfer, pangenome
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	11 Jan 2022 14:38
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 21:16
DOI:	10.1098/rstb.2020.0472
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3146497