Chromosome segregation and site-specific recombination are central processes in bacterial cell division and genome maintenance. The orchestration of these events ensures that circular chromosomes are ...

New research shows bacteria form distinct species and maintain cohesion through frequent DNA exchange via homologous recombination. When Kostas Konstantinidis proved that many microbes -- like plants ...

Evolution of bacterial pathogen populations has been detected in a variety of ways including phenotypic tests, such as metabolic activity, reaction to antisera and drug resistance and genotypic tests ...

When DNA breaks, cells must repair it accurately to prevent harmful mutations. Researchers have discovered that during a key ...

Deinococcus radiodurans can survive a range of harsh environments and is resistant to very high levels of ionizing and UV radiation, dehydration, cold, vacuum, and even acid. Therefore, the bacterium ...

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important factor in bacterial evolution that can act across species boundaries. Yet, we know little about rate and genomic targets of cross-lineage gene transfer ...

In a recent study published in the Microorganisms journal, researchers in China reviewed the uses of bacterial-artificial-chromosome (BAC)-based genome editing techniques in herpesvirus research.

Researchers are starting to characterize how populations of Neisseria bacteria exchange genes, including virulence and antibiotic resistance genes that could help the bugs become more pathogenic, ...

When Kostas Konstantinidis proved that many bacteria—like plants and animals—are organized into species, he upended a ...

Salinibacter ruber cells (green) under the microscope. Other colors represent different organisms in the saltern. (Credit: Tomeu Viver) A screenshot from a research meeting. The study's international ...