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. 2020 Oct 5;30(19):R1158-R1163.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.003.

Plasmid evolution

Tanita Wein  1 , Tal Dagan  2
Affiliations
Free article

Plasmid evolution

Tanita Wein et al. Curr Biol. .
Free article

Erratum in

  • Plasmid evolution.
    Wein T, Dagan T. Wein T, et al. Curr Biol. 2022 Oct 24;32(20):4547. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.044. Curr Biol. 2022. PMID: 36283346 No abstract available.

Abstract

Plasmids are genetic elements that colonize and replicate in prokaryotic cells (Box 1). They are considered a major driving force of prokaryote evolution, as they can migrate between populations, making them potent agents of lateral DNA transfer and microbial warfare. The importance of plasmids goes beyond microbial evolution, as they are widely used as vectors for genetic engineering in basic research (e.g., random mutagenesis) as well as applications in biotechnology (e.g., insulin production), synthetic biology, agriculture (e.g., genetic engineering of crops) and medicine (e.g., biopharmaceuticals).

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