Microbial Extracellular Vesicles
A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2021) | Viewed by 12470
Special Issue Editors
Interests: molecular microbiology; horizontal gene transfer; DNA conjugation; extracellular vesicles; virology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It has only been 20 years since microbiologists realized the significance of the production of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by bacteria and archaea. This widespread phenomenon has not only been observed under laboratory growth conditions but also in environmental conditions as in seawater, biofilm formations, or during infections, underscoring the importance of EVs to various biological processes. The recent discovery of long tubular structures termed “nanotubes”, emerging from the cell wall and composed of EVs chains or consecutive constricted segments, suggests a connected process between EVs production and nanotubes formation. The heterogeneity of microbial EVs is impressive, with some species producing EVs harbouring proteins (especially enzymes and toxins), signal molecules, but also nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA. Interestingly, the nature of the DNA transported by EVs is not restricted to mobile genetic elements such as plasmids or viruses, but sometimes corresponds to cellular genomic DNA, enabling horizontal transfers between species (a process tentatively called vesiduction). However, in many cases where EVs production is known, the potential transfer of RNA or DNA has not always been tested experimentally. Moreover, very little is known about the genetic determinants promoting or increasing the biogenesis and release of EVs.
This Special Issue of Genes on “Microbial Extracellular Vesicles” will address any original articles leading to a better comprehension of how EVs are released from cells, how the production of EVs is regulated, and the extent to which EVs are involved in genetic exchanges and/or trigger gene regulation in the target cell. General reviews dedicated to microbial EVs will also be welcome.
Dr. Nicolas SolerGuest Editor
Dr. Aurore Gorlas
Co-Guest Editor
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Keywords
- extracellular vesicles
- nanotubes
- horizontal gene transfer
- vesiduction
- microbial genetics
- vesicle release
- gene regulation
- bacteria
- archaea
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