ArticleCell2024
A cryptic plasmid is among the most numerous genetic elements in the human gut.
Article in Cell, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- The shared evolutionary capacities of plasmids and extrachromosomal DNA.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- Lineage-aware comparison of extended-spectrumMicrobial genomics · 2026Article
- Complex adaptive architectures constrain the pace of adaptations sweeping across human gut microbiomes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Decoding the human gut bacterial plasmids in colorectal cancer.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Incorporation of Cryptic Plasmid Energetics Improves Genome-Scale Metabolic Predictions in Probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917.Microbial biotechnology · 2026Article
- Comparative Evaluation of DNA Extraction Workflows for Efficient Recovery of pBI143 from Wastewater.Food and environmental virology · 2026Article
- Animal-associated jumbo phages as widespread and active modulators of gut microbiome ecology and metabolism.Science advances · 2026Article
- Hidden reservoir of highly adaptable multi-host plasmids that propagate antibiotic genes in healthy human populations.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Rethinking the plasmid paradox: when plasmid costs do not affect fitness.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- A genomic view of Earth's biomes.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- PZLAST-MAG: full length protein sequence similarity search server of large-scale MAG proteins.Bioinformatics advances · 2026Article
- Clinical and Environmental Plasmids: Antibiotic Resistance, Virulence, Mobility, and ESKAPEE Pathogens.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- The role of mobile genetic elements in adaptation of the microbiota to the dynamic human gut ecosystem.Current opinion in microbiology · 2025Review
- Abundant bacterial nucleoid-associated protein H-NS limits plasmid transfer through mechanical modification of DNA.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- A prevalent huge phage clade in human and animal gut microbiomes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- A novel mobile genetic element with virus-like characteristics is widespread in the world's oceans.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The extended mobility of plasmids.Nucleic acids research · 2025Review
- Scaling laws of bacterial and archaeal plasmids.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Aircraft lavatory wastewater surveillance for movement of antimicrobial resistance genes: a proof-of-concept study.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 9 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that often encode fitness-enhancing features. However, many bacteria carry "cryptic" plasmids that do not confer clear beneficial functions. We identified one such cryptic plasmid, pBI143, which is ubiquitous across industrialized gut microbiomes and is 14 times as numerous as crAssphage, currently established as the most abundant extrachromosomal genetic element in the human gut. The majority of mutations in pBI143 accumulate in specific positions across thousands of metagenomes, indicating strong purifying selection. pBI143 is monoclonal in most individuals, likely due to the priority effect of the version first acquired, often from one's mother. pBI143 can transfer between Bacteroidales, and although it does not appear to impact bacterial host fitness in vivo, it can transiently acquire additional genetic content. We identified important practical applications of pBI143, including its use in identifying human fecal contamination and its potential as an alternative approach to track human colonic inflammatory states.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.