Exploring the role of phage plasmids in gene transfers

Bacteriophages and plasmids drive horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bacteria. Phage-plasmids (P-Ps) are hybrids of plasmid and phages. Pfeifer and Rocha recently demonstrated that P-Ps can serve as intermediates in gene exchanges between these two types of elements, identified categories of preferentially transferred genes, and reconstructed gene flows involving phage P1-like P-Ps.