Many thanks to all co-authors! @manon-b.bsky.social @baptistedarracq.bsky.social @EliaBandini @eloilittner.bsky.social @epcrocha.bsky.social @amazeld.bsky.social @celineloot.bsky.social
And don't miss the upcoming paper from @mblokesch.bsky.social lab on the same topic! 5/5

Mechanistically, incoming ssDNA is a game changer: it promotes attC site folding, triggers integrase expression via SOS, and allows cassette excision without the need for replicative resolution. This suggests both intra- and inter-bacterial shuffling shape integron recombination dynamics. 4/5

Here, we reveal an alternative route for cassette shuffling: natural transformation. Incoming cassettes from isogenic cells can be excised and integrated into integrons, mimicking cassette shuffling without deleting endogenous cassettes. 3/5

Integrons are genetic “biobanks” that bacteria use to adapt on demand. They store cassettes that provide functions from antibiotic resistance to phage defense. Our lab showed that cassette shuffling in SCIs is limited because toxin–antitoxin cassettes keep cassette excision rate low. 2/5

Here, we reveal an alternative route for cassette shuffling: natural transformation. Incoming cassettes from isogenic cells can be excised and integrated into integrons, mimicking cassette shuffling without deleting endogenous cassettes. 3/5

Integrons are genetic “biobanks” that bacteria use to adapt on demand. They store cassettes that provide functions from antibiotic resistance to phage defense. Our lab showed that cassette shuffling in SCIs is limited because toxin–antitoxin cassettes keep cassette excision rate low. 2/5