Genomic Islands as minimal hitchers of conjugative elements
Manuel Ares-Arroyo, Romane Junker, Amandine Nucci, Marie Touchon, Eduardo P. C. Rocha
The paper identifies novel origins of transfer (oriTs) in Genomic Islands, revealing their role as hitchhikers on conjugative elements and their contribution to bacterial genetic adaptation.
bioRxiv · Feb 23, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology