Biology: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] These plasmids appear to lack any genetic functions of interest and do not seem to contain genes that could provide beneficial functions to their hosts. Given the lack of a clear advantage to their hosts and the likely cost of maintaining them, these plasmids are often referred to as selfish elements or genetic parasites.[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] However, cryptic plasmids could potentially be important in antibiotic resistance, by contributing to heteroresistance in bacterial populations. [3]
They have been found to be highly abundant, as seen in Lactobacillus where most plasmids are cryptic. [4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "A cryptic plasmid is among the most numerous genetic elements in the human gut". Cell 187 (5): 1206–1222.e16. February 2024. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.039. PMID 38428395.
- ↑ "Chapter 1 – The Function and Organization of Plasmids". The Biology of Plasmids (First ed.). Osney, Oxford OX: Wiley-Blackwell. 1996. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-632-03436-9.
- ↑ Nicoloff, Hervé; Hjort, Karin; Andersson, Dan I.; Wang, Helen (2024-05-10). "Three concurrent mechanisms generate gene copy number variation and transient antibiotic heteroresistance" (in en). Nature Communications 15 (1): 3981. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-48233-0. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 38730266. Bibcode: 2024NatCo..15.3981N.
- ↑ "Plasmids in Lactobacillus". Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 17 (3): 227–272. 1997. doi:10.3109/07388559709146615. PMID 9306650.
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