Biopolymers and cell. 2004 Volume 20. № 5. 388-397.

N. O. Kozyrovska

Integrons as a key tool in bacteria evolution

Summary

The integron/gene cassette system is a relatively simple structure, and it is linked to the mobile genetic elements pool that serves bacteria for their accommodation and survival in the changeable environment. The properties of integrons and gene cassettes indicate that these elements play a role in both adaptation to permanently changing environmental conditions and formation of the prokaryotic metagenome that is a resource for gene dissemination and evolution of bacteria. The diversity of integrons and cassette associated genes,  an ancestry for integrons, and their spread are reviewed.