How do interactions between mobile genetic elements affect horizontal gene transfer?

Horizontal gene transfer is central to bacterial adaptation and is facilitated by mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Increasingly, MGEs are being studied as agents with their own interests and adaptations, and the interactions MGEs have with one another are recognised as having a powerful effect on the flow of traits between microbes. Collaborations and conflicts between MGEs are nuanced and can both promote and inhibit the acquisition of new genetic material, shaping the maintenance of newly acquired genes and the dissemination of important adaptive traits through microbiomes.

Precise equilibrium structure determination of thiophene (c-CHS) by rotational spectroscopy-Structure of a five-membered heterocycle containing a third-row atom.

The rotational spectrum of thiophene (c-CHS) has been collected between 8 and 360 GHz. Samples of varying deuterium-enrichment were synthesized to yield all possible deuterium-substituted isotopologues of thiophene. A total of 26 isotopologues have been measured and least-squares fit using A- and S-reduced distorted-rotor Hamiltonians in the I representation.

Rotational Spectra of Three Cyanobutadiene Isomers (CHN) of Relevance to Astrochemistry and Other Harsh Reaction Environments.

Three cyanobutadiene isomers have been synthesized and their rotational spectra analyzed in the 130-375 GHz frequency range. These species, which are close analogues of known interstellar molecules and are isomers of the heterocyclic aromatic molecule pyridine (CHN), offer the opportunity of revealing important insights concerning the chemistry in astronomical environments. The conformers of -1-cyano-1,3-butadiene and -1-cyano-1,3-butadiene are observed, while both the and conformers of 4-cyano-1,2-butadiene are evident in the rotational spectra.