Das bakterielle Mobilom

Mobile elements Meanwhile, we know that mobile elements are present in all forms of life. The genomes of mammals consist of up to 50% of mobile elements, those of plants up to 90%. In bacteria mobile elements establish themselves as autonomously replicating replicons (plasmids and plasmid‐prophages) or are constituents of replicons such as IS elements, transposons, conjugative transposons, integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs), genomic islands and integrons. Why distinct bacterial species still exist? Most probably, still unknown mechanisms ensure that some genes never become mobile.