Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs): What They Do and How They Work
Name
Grossman 3.pdf
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4.32 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c7456be9994d11270278a50ce95a2e6b
Author(s)
Grossman, Alan Davis
Johnson, Christopher M
Date Issued
October 2015
Journal
Annual Review of Genetics
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Citation
Johnson, Christopher M., and Alan D. Grossman. “Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs): What They Do and How They Work.” Annual Review of Genetics 49.1 (2015): 577–601.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer plays a major role in microbial evolution, allowing microbes to acquire new genes and phenotypes. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs, a.k.a. conjugative transposons) are modular mobile genetic elements integrated into a host genome and are passively propagated during chromosomal replication and cell division. Induction of ICE gene expression leads to excision, production of the conserved conjugation machinery (a type IV secretion system), and the potential to transfer DNA to appropriate recipients. ICEs typically contain cargo genes that are not usually related to the ICE life cycle and that confer phenotypes to host cells. We summarize the life cycle and discovery of ICEs, some of the regulatory mechanisms, and how the types of cargo have influenced our view of ICEs. We discuss how ICEs can acquire new cargo genes and describe challenges to the field and various perspectives on ICE biology.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-112414-055018
