Cryptic plasmids

In molecular biology, a cryptic plasmid is a plasmid that doesn't appear to provide any clear advantage to its host, yet still persists in bacterial populations.^[1] The maintenance of cryptic plasmids might be explained by mechanisms like horizontal gene transfer (e.g., conjugation, transduction) that balance their loss due to segregation.^[2]

References

^ Fogarty, Emily C.; Schechter, Matthew S.; Lolans, Karen; Sheahan, Madeline L.; Veseli, Iva; Moore, Ryan M.; Kiefl, Evan; Moody, Thomas; Rice, Phoebe A.; Yu, Michael K.; Mimee, Mark; Chang, Eugene B.; Ruscheweyh, Hans-Joachim; Sunagawa, Shinichi; Mclellan, Sandra L.; Willis, Amy D.; Comstock, Laurie E.; Eren, A. Murat (February 2, 2024). "A cryptic plasmid is among the most numerous genetic elements in the human gut". Cell. 187 (5): 1206–1222.e16. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.039. PMC 10973873. PMID 38428395.
^ Summers DK (1996). "Chapter 1 – The Function and Organization of Plasmids". The Biology of Plasmids (First ed.). Osney, Oxford OX: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-632-03436-9.

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[1] Fogarty, Emily C.; Schechter, Matthew S.; Lolans, Karen; Sheahan, Madeline L.; Veseli, Iva; Moore, Ryan M.; Kiefl, Evan; Moody, Thomas; Rice, Phoebe A.; Yu, Michael K.; Mimee, Mark; Chang, Eugene B.; Ruscheweyh, Hans-Joachim; Sunagawa, Shinichi; Mclellan, Sandra L.; Willis, Amy D.; Comstock, Laurie E.; Eren, A. Murat (February 2, 2024). "A cryptic plasmid is among the most numerous genetic elements in the human gut". Cell. 187 (5): 1206–1222.e16. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.039. PMC 10973873. PMID 38428395.

[2] Summers DK (1996). "Chapter 1 – The Function and Organization of Plasmids". The Biology of Plasmids (First ed.). Osney, Oxford OX: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-632-03436-9.

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