Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41576165›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Bacteriophages mobilize bacterial defense systems via lateral transduction.

Xu Kuang, Jamie Gorzynski, Marie Touchon, Andrey Shkoporov, Eduardo P C Rocha, J Ross Fitzgerald, John Chen, Jakob T Rostøl, José R Penadés

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Revisiting the life cycle of temperate phages.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026
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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

9 authors.

Xu KuangDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.ORCID 0009-0002-2313-8339
Jamie GorzynskiThe Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4921-9789
Marie TouchonCNRS, UMR3525, Microbial Evolutionary Genomics, Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, 75015 Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0001-7389-447X
Andrey ShkoporovSchool of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0002-5547-8672
Eduardo P C RochaCNRS, UMR3525, Microbial Evolutionary Genomics, Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, 75015 Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0001-7704-822X
J Ross FitzgeraldThe Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9233-8468
John ChenDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0002-2318-1823
Jakob T RostølDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9485-9972
José R PenadésDepartment of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6439-5262

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To counter challenges from bacteriophages (phages), bacteria use defense mechanisms that can reside on mobile genetic elements or within chromosomes. These immune systems are easily gained and lost, allowing adaptation to threats. However, the mechanism of mobilization of chromosomally encoded defense genes remains poorly understood. Here, we show that phage- and phage-inducible chromosomal island (PICI)-mediated lateral transduction (LT), a highly efficient horizontal gene transfer mechanism, facilitates the transfer of these defense genes between bacteria. Using several bacterial models, we demonstrate that defense systems are often positioned near phage or PICI attachment sites, allowing them to exploit LT for their mobility. In addition, LT diversifies defense genes carried by prophages and PICIs, driving immune system evolution and turnover. These processes provide phage resistance to new bacterial hosts and profoundly affect population genomics. Our findings reveal LT as a crucial mechanism shaping bacterial evolution and influencing the trajectory of pathogenic clones in nature.

Indexed as

BacteriaBacteriophagesGene Transfer, HorizontalTransduction, GeneticChromosomes, BacterialGenomic IslandsProphages

Identifiers

PMID41576165
PMCPMC12829572

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.