Program in Genetics, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2010 Aug;8(8):552-63. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro2382. Epub 2010 Jul 5.
Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are a diverse group of mobile genetic elements found in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These elements primarily reside in a host chromosome but retain the ability to excise and to transfer by conjugation. Although ICEs use a range of mechanisms to promote their core functions of integration, excision, transfer and regulation, there are common features that unify the group. This Review compares and contrasts the core functions for some of the well-studied ICEs and discusses them in the broader context of mobile-element and genome evolution.
整合子-接合元件（ICEs）是广泛存在于革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌中的一类移动遗传元件。这些元件主要存在于宿主染色体中，但仍保留有通过接合进行切除和转移的能力。尽管 ICEs 利用多种机制来促进其整合、切除、转移和调控等核心功能，但它们仍具有一些共同特征。本综述比较和对比了一些研究较为透彻的 ICEs 的核心功能，并在移动元件和基因组进化的更广泛背景下对其进行了讨论。
