We identified a new type of what seems to be a gene transfer agent in the most abundant gut microbe. Long read sequencing was the key here, as it showed suspiciously many 4kb and 8kb reads, which fits the smallest T=3 shrinked and T=3 regular capsids. And indeed, GTAs! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Here, the authors show that packaging of bacterial DNA by phage-like particles is widespread in the gut microbiome, with activity of gene transfer agents being prominent in Oscillospiraceae and Rumino...
