Following plasmid propagation in complex bacterial communities

In this issue of Cell Reports, Ma et al.1 identify causative regulatory links between self-organization in surface-attached bacterial colonies and the rate of horizontal gene transfers (conjugations) and subsequent selection of the newly arising population of recipient bacteria (transconjugants). In this issue of Cell Reports, Ma et al. identify causative regulatory links between self-organization in surface-attached bacterial colonies and the rate of horizontal gene transfers (conjugations) and subsequent selection of the newly arising population of recipient bacteria (transconjugants).