Publications by authors named "P M Rainey"

The evolution of complex life forms, exemplified by multicellular organisms, can be traced through a series of evolutionary transitions in individuality, beginning with the origin of life, followed by the emergence of the eukaryotic cell, and, among other transitions, culminating in the shift from unicellularity to multicellularity. Several attempts have been made to explain the origins of such transitions, many of which have been internalist (i.e.

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Article Synopsis
  • Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are mobile genetic elements that can transfer genes between diverse bacterial species, impacting traits like symbiosis, pathogenicity, and antibiotic resistance.
  • A study identified 53 different types of ICEs in a specific group of bacteria, termed PsICEs, which have unique structural features and evolutionary pathways compared to their bacterial hosts.
  • One prevalent cargo gene, Tn, while not affecting pathogen growth in plants, influences bacterial metabolism and gene expression in response to carbon sources, highlighting its role in bacterial fitness.
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Pyoverdin is a water-soluble metal-chelator synthesized by members of the genus and used for the acquisition of insoluble ferric iron. Although freely diffusible in aqueous environments, preferential dissemination of pyoverdin among adjacent cells, fine-tuning of intracellular siderophore concentrations, and fitness advantages to pyoverdin-producing versus nonproducing cells, indicate control of location and release. Here, using time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to track single cells in growing microcolonies of SBW25, we show accumulation of pyoverdin at cell poles.

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