The chromosomal accommodation and domestication of mobile genetic elements

Marie Touchon (1) , Louis-Marie Bobay (1) , Eduardo P C Rocha (2, 1)

1 Génomique évolutive des Microbes / Microbial Evolutionary Genomics
2 SU - Sorbonne Université

Prokaryotes are constantly being infected by large mobile genetic elements such as conjugative elements and temperate phages. The fitness of these elements is tightly linked with the evolutionary success of the host. This leads to selection against disruptive effects their integration might have on the organization and structure of the chromosome. Seamless genetic accommodation of the mobile elements also involves silencing infectious mechanisms and expressing functions adaptive to the host.

Keywords: comparative genomics; Evolution; prokaryotes; viruses

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Genetics; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Biodiversity; Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Bacteriology

Marie Touchon, Louis-Marie Bobay, Eduardo P C Rocha. The chromosomal accommodation and domestication of mobile genetic elements. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 2014, 22, pp.22-29. ⟨10.1016/j.mib.2014.09.010⟩. ⟨pasteur-01122287⟩