Specificity and Selective Advantage of an Exclusion System in the Integrative and Conjugative Element ICE Bs1 of Bacillus subtilis

Abstract

<jats:p>Horizontal gene transfer is a driving force in bacterial evolution, responsible for the spread of many traits, including antibiotic and heavy metal resistance. Conjugation, one type of horizontal gene transfer, involves DNA transfer from donor to recipient cells through conjugation machinery and direct cell-cell contact.</jats:p>