New article in Science describes a new type of bacterial transduction Our close collaborators from Prof José Penadés' lab in the University of Glasgow have just published a paper in Science, entitled "Genome hypermobility by lateral transduction". This work has included also much work from Rodrigo Bacigalupe and Prof Ross Fitzgerald. A huge achievement! The article describes a newly discovered type of transduction, which is a mechanism of DNA transfer between bacteria mediated by bacteriophage viruses, that ocurrs at frequences 1,000 times higher than previously observed. This strategy has tremendous implications and changes they way we understand the evolution of bacteria. For more information, you can find the article here. Full citation: Chen J, Quiles-Puchalt N, Chiang YN, Bacigalupe R, Fillol-Salom A, Chee MSJ, Fitzgerald JR, Penadés JR. Genome hypermobility by lateral transduction. Science. 2018 Oct 12;362(6411):207-212. doi: 10.1126/science.aat5867. Media coverage: The article received a comment on the same issue of Science: "A common trick for transferring bacterial DNA". Also, it was referred in many news articles, including: "Scientific Breakthrough could Explain how Superbugs Rapidly Evolve" (University of Glasgow Press Office) "Bacterial DNA gets passed around in viral packages -- in greater amounts than previously" (AAAS EurekAlert!) "‘Broadband’ Networks of Viruses May Help Bacteria Evolve Faster" (Quanta Magazine) "New route of acquiring antibiotic resistance in bacteria is the most potent one to date" (Science Daily)
