Researchers Discover Previously Unknown Mechanism by Which Bacteria Share Their Genetic Material Through Virus Parasites

In a study published on August 3, 2023, in Cell, one of the most prominent peer-reviewed scientific journals in the field of biochemistry & molecular biology, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Imperial College London have discovered a new way by which bacteria transmit their genes, enabling them to evolve much faster than previously understood. Led by Assistant Professor John Chen from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), the insights could help scientists to better understand how pathogenic bacteria evolve and become increasingly virulent and resistant to antibiotics. The Cell article is titled “Dual Pathogenicity Island Transfer by Piggybacking Lateral Transduction.”