Author: Christopher M. Thomas
Publisher: CRC Press
Keywords: gene, spread, plasmids, pool, horizontal, bacterial
Number of Pages: 444
Published: 2000-05-01
List price: $139.95
ISBN-10: 9057024624
ISBN-13: 9789057024627

Bacteria are the most ubiquitous of all organisms being responsible not only for a number of diseases but also for many of the chemical cycles on which life on earth depends. Vital to their genetic adaptability is the existence of autonomous genetic elements-plasmids-which promote genetic exchange and recombination. The genes carried by any particular plasmid may be found only in few individuals of any species but can also be shared with other species and thus constitute a horizontal gene pool. This book deals with the various contributions that plasmids make to this pool-the replication, sta