Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33469168›Full record

ReviewNature reviews. Microbiology2021

Beyond horizontal gene transfer: the role of plasmids in bacterial evolution.

Jerónimo Rodríguez-Beltrán, Javier DelaFuente, Ricardo León-Sampedro, R Craig MacLean, Álvaro San Millán

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews. Microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 255 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
255citing papers in PubMed
26.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

255 citing papers in PubMed, 477 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Revisiting the life cycle of temperate phages.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026
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195 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Jerónimo Rodríguez-BeltránDepartment of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Madrid, Spain. jeronimo.rodriguez.beltran@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3014-1229
Javier DelaFuenteDepartment of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Madrid, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8844-9704
Ricardo León-SampedroDepartment of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Madrid, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5317-8310
R Craig MacLeanDepartment of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7941-813X
Álvaro San MillánDepartment of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Madrid, Spain. asanmillan@cnb.csic.es.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8544-0387
Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria · ESCentro Nacional de Biotecnología · ESUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust 106918/Z/15/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plasmids have a key role in bacterial ecology and evolution because they mobilize accessory genes by horizontal gene transfer. However, recent studies have revealed that the evolutionary impact of plasmids goes above and beyond their being mere gene delivery platforms. Plasmids are usually kept at multiple copies per cell, producing islands of polyploidy in the bacterial genome. As a consequence, the evolution of plasmid-encoded genes is governed by a set of rules different from those affecting chromosomal genes, and these rules are shaped by unusual concepts in bacterial genetics, such as genetic dominance, heteroplasmy or segregational drift. In this Review, we discuss recent advances that underscore the importance of plasmids in bacterial ecology and evolution beyond horizontal gene transfer. We focus on new evidence that suggests that plasmids might accelerate bacterial evolution, mainly by promoting the evolution of plasmid-encoded genes, but also by enhancing the adaptation of their host chromosome. Finally, we integrate the most relevant theoretical and empirical studies providing a global understanding of the forces that govern plasmid-mediated evolution in bacteria.

Indexed as

Biological EvolutionGene Transfer, HorizontalGenome, BacterialBacteriaGenetic VariationPlasmids

Identifiers

PMID33469168
OpenAlexW3125845881

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.