When you think of viruses, you probably think of flu-like symptoms and quarantines. Humankind has suffered from viral diseases ranging from smallpox to COVID-19, hantavirus and Ebola since the dawn of recorded history.

However, all living organisms that are susceptible to viral infections, not just humans. In fact, the greatest number and most diverse collection of viruses are those that infect bacteria.

Amazingly, some bacteria have transformed these infectious invaders into gene transfer agents (GTAs) that help them exchange genetic material among themselves.

This process is a type of horizontal gene transfer that allows genetic information to be shared among related bacteria rather than being restricted to inheritance by the offspring of a parent cell.

Because GTAs can empower bacteria to acquire new traits and spread disease-related genes, studying them may help unlock important applications in human health and biotechnology, including those that combat the spread of antibiotic resistance.

A recent study in Nature Microbiology, for example, pinpointed a cluster of genes that trigger bacteria to release GTA particles that can spread antibiotic-resistance genes.

Descendants of ancient viruses

In 2000, we isolated GTA genes from the bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus and analyzed the proteins that these genes instruct the cells to make.........

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