The Few, the Many, and the Mobile: A Macroecology of Plasmids

Plasmids are mobile DNA molecules that can move between bacteria and often carry genes involved in antibiotic resistance, virulence, and environmental adaptation. We asked whether their large-scale diversity follows a familiar ecological pattern: a few common groups and many rare ones. We analyzed 52,909 complete plasmid sequences, grouped into 16,547 genetically coherent units. Most units were rare, yet together they contained a substantial fraction of all plasmids and much of the observed genetic diversity. Rare groups included many unique predicted virulence and antibiotic resistance genes and occurred across a broader range of bacterial hosts. Common groups, by contrast, were enriched in plasmids with predicted transfer functions. These findings reveal a core–periphery organization of plasmid diversity and identify the rare plasmid biosphere as an important reservoir of genetic variation with implications for bacterial evolution, adaptation, and public health.

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