double-stranded DNA molecule that is distinct from a cell's chromosomal DNA. Plasmids naturally exist in bacterial cells, and they also occur in some eukaryotes. Often, the genes carried in ...

A global team has made a significant advance in understanding how bacterial plasmids contribute to antibiotic resistance.

An international collaboration has achieved an important breakthrough in understanding the genetic mechanisms that allow bacteria to build resistance to drugs.

Researchers made a “huge breakthrough” when they did an experiment “purely out of curiosity” which solves “a decades-long ...

21 in the journal Cell. The presence of plasmids in bacteria is well-known – some bacteria secrete plasmids, and the molecules can also move from one cell to another to share genetic information.

An international collaboration has achieved an important breakthrough in understanding the genetic mechanisms that allow ...

Plasmids are small extrachromosomal genetic elements that frequently occur in bacterial cells and can influence microbial ...

Bacterial cells close bacterial cell A microscopic individual cell of a bacterium. have a more simple structure compared to animal, plant and fungal cells and are usually much smaller.

However, the mechanics behind this process are not well understood. During the process, known as “conjugation,” one bacterial cell connects directly to another through a tiny tube that allows the ...

create bridges between cells. Free DNA floats around, just waiting to be scooped up. Even viruses transfer DNA between bacteria. While the toxins important to plasmids do kill bacteria ...