ArticleThe ISME journal2014
Positive epistasis between co-infecting plasmids promotes plasmid survival in bacterial populations.
Article in The ISME journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 112 papers.
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Who cites it
112 citing papers in PubMed.
- The shared evolutionary capacities of plasmids and extrachromosomal DNA.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- Invasive plasmids as ecosystem engineers-from mechanism to application.Essays in biochemistry · 2026Review
- Genomic epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance profile ofMicrobial genomics · 2026Article
- Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Intergeneric conjugative transfer of plasmid-associated antibiotic resistance genes from environmental Aeromonas spp. to gram-negative recipient strains.Molecular biology reports · 2026Article
- Resistance potentiators: Evolutionary catalysts of antibiotic resistance.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Do plasmid-dependent phages enable the survival of costly plasmids?bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The interplay between ecological networks drives host-plasmid community dynamics.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Plug-and-play evolution of the Klebsiella pneumoniae capsule locus enables serotype exchange across genetic backgrounds.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Evolutionary constraints on RNA polymerase gene positioning in the genome of fast-growing bacteria.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- CRISPR-Cas is beneficial in plasmid competition, but limited by competitor toxin-antitoxin activity when horizontally transferred.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- tRNA-Mediated Plasmid Stabilization for Antibiotic-Free Applications inACS synthetic biology · 2026Article
- Transfer potential of F-like plasmids inISME communications · 2026Article
- Fitness costs and persistence of plasmid-mediated cephalosporin resistance inFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Challenges and considerations for whole-genome-based antimicrobial resistance plasmid investigations.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2025Review
- ProFiT-SPEci-FISH: a novel approach for linking plasmids to hosts in complex microbial communities at the single-cell level.Microbiome · 2025Article
- Horizontal gene transfer, segregation loss, and the speed of microbial adaptation.Evolution letters · 2025Article
- Metabolic remodeling of microorganisms by mobile genetic elements alters mutualistic community composition.mSystems · 2025Article
- Communities of plasmids as strategies for antimicrobial resistance gene survival in wastewater treatment plant effluent.npj antimicrobials and resistance · 2025Article
- Chromosomal resistance mutations facilitate acquisition of multidrug-resistant plasmids inMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2025Article
52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Plasmids have a key role in the horizontal transfer of genes among bacteria. Although plasmids are catalysts for bacterial evolution, it is challenging to understand how they can persist in bacterial populations over the long term because of the burden they impose on their hosts (the 'plasmid paradox'). This paradox is especially perplexing in the case of 'small' plasmids, which are unable to self-transfer by conjugation. Here, for the first time, we investigate how interactions between co-infecting plasmids influence plasmid persistence. Using an experimental model system based on interactions between a diverse assemblage of 'large' plasmids and a single small plasmid, pNI105, in the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we demonstrate that positive epistasis minimizes the cost associated with carrying multiple plasmids over the short term and increases the stability of the small plasmid over a longer time scale. In support of these experimental data, bioinformatic analysis showed that associations between small and large plasmids are more common than would be expected owing to chance alone across a range of families of bacteria; more generally, we find that co-infection with multiple plasmids is more common than would be expected owing to chance across a wide range of bacterial phyla. Collectively, these results suggest that positive epistasis promotes plasmid stability in bacterial populations. These findings pave the way for future mechanistic studies aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms of plasmid-plasmid interaction, and evolutionary studies aimed at understanding how the coevolution of plasmids drives the spread of plasmid-encoded traits.
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