Abstract
Introduction: the secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements.
Highlights
Cite this article: Hall JPJ, Harrison E, Baltrus DA. 2021 Introduction: the secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements
In their review on the subject, Wardell et al [20] explain that the complex, multi-component and exquisitely coevolved symbiosis trait is encoded not as part of the core rhizobial genome but is instead located on mobile plasmids or integrative conjugative elements—imposing a fitness cost and impeding co-adaptation with the rest of the genome
mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are better conceptualized as fickle symbionts, existing on a continuum, with interactions that range from mutualistic to antagonistic depending on the genetic and environmental contexts [23]
Summary
Hath smaller Fleas that on him prey, And these have smaller yet to bite ’em, And so proceed ad infinitum’ Microscopists, training their lenses on samples, observed individual microbes, separated from one another by membranes and cell walls and dividing by binary fission. While not alive in any conventional sense, MGEs, with their own interests and adaptive trajectories transcending those of their hosts, might well be considered to have ‘lives’, hidden within the genomic habitat of their host cells This perspective—viewing MGEs as evolving, self-interested, semi-autonomous actors in their own right—challenges the implicit coherence of the microbial individual, instead revealing genomes to be a contested space of competition and collaboration [10]. What are the implications for understanding MGEs, horizontal gene transfer and microbial evolution?
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