[{"main_file_link":[{"open_access":"1","url":"https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238"}],"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/","keyword":["homologous recombination","defense systems","CRISPR-Cas","herd immunity","stationary phase","bacterial evolution"],"das_tickbox":"1","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"date_updated":"2026-10-12T10:51:54Z","article_number":"msag238","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","year":"2026","supplementarymaterial":"yes","corr_author":"1","author":[{"first_name":"Pavel","full_name":"Payne, Pavel","last_name":"Payne","id":"35F78294-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","orcid":"0000-0002-2711-9453"},{"first_name":"Pavel","full_name":"Plevka, Pavel","last_name":"Plevka"},{"orcid":"0000-0002-4624-4612","last_name":"Bollback","full_name":"Bollback, Jonathan P","id":"2C6FA9CC-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","first_name":"Jonathan P"},{"orcid":"0000-0001-6220-2052","first_name":"Calin C","id":"47F8433E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","full_name":"Guet, Calin C","last_name":"Guet"}],"status":"public","volume":43,"DOAJ_listed":"1","article_processing_charge":"Yes","title":"Herd immunity underlies homologous recombination in stationary phase bacteria","OA_place":"publisher","pmid":1,"date_created":"2026-10-11T22:02:04Z","publisher":"Oxford University Press","external_id":{"pmid":["42827080"]},"issue":"10","tmp":{"image":"/images/cc_by_nc.png","name":"Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode","short":"CC BY-NC (4.0)"},"oa_version":"Published Version","ddc":["570"],"type":"journal_article","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238","publication_status":"epub_ahead","intvolume":"        43","day":"03","dataavailabilitystatement":"The data underlying this article are available in the article and in its online material.","department":[{"_id":"CaGu"}],"article_type":"original","date_published":"2026-10-03T00:00:00Z","doi":"10.1093/molbev/msag238","citation":{"ieee":"P. Payne, P. Plevka, J. P. Bollback, and C. C. Guet, “Herd immunity underlies homologous recombination in stationary phase bacteria,” <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i>, vol. 43, no. 10. Oxford University Press, 2026.","apa":"Payne, P., Plevka, P., Bollback, J. P., &#38; Guet, C. C. (2026). Herd immunity underlies homologous recombination in stationary phase bacteria. <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238\">https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238</a>","ama":"Payne P, Plevka P, Bollback JP, Guet CC. Herd immunity underlies homologous recombination in stationary phase bacteria. <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i>. 2026;43(10). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238\">10.1093/molbev/msag238</a>","mla":"Payne, Pavel, et al. “Herd Immunity Underlies Homologous Recombination in Stationary Phase Bacteria.” <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i>, vol. 43, no. 10, msag238, Oxford University Press, 2026, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238\">10.1093/molbev/msag238</a>.","chicago":"Payne, Pavel, Pavel Plevka, Jonathan P Bollback, and Calin C Guet. “Herd Immunity Underlies Homologous Recombination in Stationary Phase Bacteria.” <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i>. Oxford University Press, 2026. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238\">https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag238</a>.","ista":"Payne P, Plevka P, Bollback JP, Guet CC. 2026. Herd immunity underlies homologous recombination in stationary phase bacteria. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 43(10), msag238.","short":"P. Payne, P. Plevka, J.P. Bollback, C.C. Guet, Molecular Biology and Evolution 43 (2026)."},"publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1537-1719"],"issn":["0737-4038"]},"scopus_import":"1","has_accepted_license":"1","acknowledgement":"We thank Stuart Baird, Nick Barton, Max Joesch, Meriem El Karoui, Mato Lagator, Ivana Mašlaňová, Stepan Ovchinnikov, Roman Pantůček, Maroš Pleška, Jitka Polechová, and Bryan Wu for their feedback on the manuscript. We are grateful to the Redlinger Hut for hosting many discussions about the project away from the daily buzz. We acknowledge the core facility CELLIM supported by the Czech-BioImaging large RI project (LM2023050 funded by MEYS CR) for their support. This work was supported by H2020 European Research Council EVOLHGT No. 648440 to JPB, European Commission Programme EXCELES project LX22NPO5103 “National Institute of Virology and Bacteriology” to PPl, and a bilateral Czech-Austrian mobility grant 8J3AT003 funded by MEYS CR and OeAD AT to PPa and CCG.","quality_controlled":"1","publication":"Molecular Biology and Evolution","researchdata_availability":"no","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Homologous recombination is ubiquitous across evolution, generating variation through genetic reshuffling. Although bacteria lack meiotic recombination, homologous recombination has been known to extensively shape their genomes. However, the mechanisms and ecological conditions sustaining frequent recombination in bacteria remain unclear. Using an Escherichia coli–P1 phage model system, we reveal how frequent recombination emerges from CRISPR-based herd immunity to a generalized transducing phage (DNA vector). Herd immunity maintains phage-susceptible donor bacteria, recipient immune bacteria, and transducing phage, which promotes chromosomal gene flow that exceeds spontaneous mutation by up to two orders of magnitude. Notably, recombination begins as bacterial cultures enter stationary phase, when canonical mutation supply through population growth and DNA replication is strongly reduced, and recombination can be reinitiated by brief fresh nutrient pulses. Genetic analysis showed that stationary-phase recombination requires recA, recB, and recG, connecting this process to a defined homologous recombination pathway, and suggests a plausible transcriptional regulatory link to transition to nutrient limitation. Bacterial herd immunity therefore has an unexpected evolutionary consequence: it can promote homologous recombination by turning phages into de facto pollinators. This mechanism can help explain how high rates of homologous recombination may be sustained across bacterial populations and suggests that bacterial immune systems can shape molecular evolution not only by blocking infection but also by regulating genetic exchange."}],"OA_type":"gold","month":"10","oa":1,"_id":"23090"},{"extern":"1","_id":"14357","oa":1,"month":"10","abstract":[{"text":"Aminoacylation of transfer RNA (tRNA) is a key step in protein biosynthesis, carried out by highly specific aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs). ARSs have been implicated in autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive human disorders. Autosomal dominant variants in tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase 1 (WARS1) are known to cause distal hereditary motor neuropathy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, but a recessively inherited phenotype is yet to be clearly defined. Seryl-tRNA synthetase 1 (SARS1) has rarely been implicated in an autosomal recessive developmental disorder. Here, we report five individuals with biallelic missense variants in WARS1 or SARS1, who presented with an overlapping phenotype of microcephaly, developmental delay, intellectual disability, and brain anomalies. Structural mapping showed that the SARS1 variant is located directly within the enzyme’s active site, most likely diminishing activity, while the WARS1 variant is located in the N-terminal domain. We further characterize the identified WARS1 variant by showing that it negatively impacts protein abundance and is unable to rescue the phenotype of a CRISPR/Cas9 wars1 knockout zebrafish model. In summary, we describe two overlapping autosomal recessive syndromes caused by variants in WARS1 and SARS1, present functional insights into the pathogenesis of the WARS1-related syndrome and define an emerging disease spectrum: ARS-related developmental disorders with or without microcephaly.","lang":"eng"}],"publication":"Human Mutation","quality_controlled":"1","has_accepted_license":"1","file":[{"access_level":"open_access","creator":"dernst","date_created":"2023-09-25T08:41:23Z","date_updated":"2023-09-25T08:41:23Z","relation":"main_file","content_type":"application/pdf","file_size":4863605,"success":1,"file_id":"14367","file_name":"2022_HumanMutation_Boegershausen.pdf","checksum":"c31fc91e0445c35b9da83eb911a9b552"}],"scopus_import":"1","doi":"10.1002/humu.24430","citation":{"ieee":"N. Boegershausen <i>et al.</i>, “WARS1 and SARS1: Two tRNA synthetases implicated in autosomal recessive microcephaly,” <i>Human Mutation</i>, vol. 43, no. 10. Wiley, pp. 1454–1471, 2022.","apa":"Boegershausen, N., Krawczyk, H. E., Jamra, R. A., Lin, S.-J., Yigit, G., Huening, I., … Wollnik, B. (2022). WARS1 and SARS1: Two tRNA synthetases implicated in autosomal recessive microcephaly. <i>Human Mutation</i>. Wiley. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430\">https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430</a>","ama":"Boegershausen N, Krawczyk HE, Jamra RA, et al. WARS1 and SARS1: Two tRNA synthetases implicated in autosomal recessive microcephaly. <i>Human Mutation</i>. 2022;43(10):1454-1471. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430\">10.1002/humu.24430</a>","mla":"Boegershausen, Nina, et al. “WARS1 and SARS1: Two TRNA Synthetases Implicated in Autosomal Recessive Microcephaly.” <i>Human Mutation</i>, vol. 43, no. 10, Wiley, 2022, pp. 1454–71, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430\">10.1002/humu.24430</a>.","chicago":"Boegershausen, Nina, Hannah E. Krawczyk, Rami A. Jamra, Sheng-Jia Lin, Goekhan Yigit, Irina Huening, Anna M. Polo, et al. “WARS1 and SARS1: Two TRNA Synthetases Implicated in Autosomal Recessive Microcephaly.” <i>Human Mutation</i>. Wiley, 2022. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430\">https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430</a>.","short":"N. Boegershausen, H.E. Krawczyk, R.A. Jamra, S.-J. Lin, G. Yigit, I. Huening, A.M. Polo, B. Vona, K. Huang, J. Schmidt, J. Altmueller, J. Luppe, K. Platzer, B.B. Doergeloh, A. Busche, S. Biskup, M. Mendes, I, D.E.C. Smith, G.S. Salomons, A. Zibat, E. Bueltmann, P. Nuernberg, M. Spielmann, J.R. Lemke, Y. Li, M. Zenker, G.K. Varshney, H.S. Hillen, C.P. Kratz, B. Wollnik, Human Mutation 43 (2022) 1454–1471.","ista":"Boegershausen N, Krawczyk HE, Jamra RA, Lin S-J, Yigit G, Huening I, Polo AM, Vona B, Huang K, Schmidt J, Altmueller J, Luppe J, Platzer K, Doergeloh BB, Busche A, Biskup S, Mendes, I M, Smith DEC, Salomons GS, Zibat A, Bueltmann E, Nuernberg P, Spielmann M, Lemke JR, Li Y, Zenker M, Varshney GK, Hillen HS, Kratz CP, Wollnik B. 2022. WARS1 and SARS1: Two tRNA synthetases implicated in autosomal recessive microcephaly. Human Mutation. 43(10), 1454–1471."},"publication_identifier":{"issn":["1059-7794"]},"date_published":"2022-10-01T00:00:00Z","article_type":"original","day":"01","intvolume":"        43","publication_status":"published","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1002/humu.24430","type":"journal_article","file_date_updated":"2023-09-25T08:41:23Z","ddc":["570"],"tmp":{"legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode","short":"CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)","name":"Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)","image":"/images/cc_by_nc_nd.png"},"oa_version":"Published Version","issue":"10","external_id":{"pmid":["35790048"]},"publisher":"Wiley","date_created":"2023-09-20T20:59:33Z","pmid":1,"title":"WARS1 and SARS1: Two tRNA synthetases implicated in autosomal recessive microcephaly","article_processing_charge":"No","volume":43,"status":"public","author":[{"first_name":"Nina","full_name":"Boegershausen, Nina","last_name":"Boegershausen"},{"last_name":"Krawczyk","full_name":"Krawczyk, Hannah E.","first_name":"Hannah E."},{"first_name":"Rami A.","full_name":"Jamra, Rami A.","last_name":"Jamra"},{"first_name":"Sheng-Jia","full_name":"Lin, Sheng-Jia","last_name":"Lin"},{"first_name":"Goekhan","last_name":"Yigit","full_name":"Yigit, Goekhan"},{"first_name":"Irina","full_name":"Huening, Irina","last_name":"Huening"},{"last_name":"Polo","full_name":"Polo, Anna M.","first_name":"Anna M."},{"first_name":"Barbara","last_name":"Vona","full_name":"Vona, Barbara"},{"orcid":"0000-0002-2512-7812","id":"3b3d2888-1ff6-11ee-9fa6-8f209ca91fe3","last_name":"Huang","full_name":"Huang, Kevin","first_name":"Kevin"},{"last_name":"Schmidt","full_name":"Schmidt, Julia","first_name":"Julia"},{"last_name":"Altmueller","full_name":"Altmueller, Janine","first_name":"Janine"},{"first_name":"Johannes","full_name":"Luppe, Johannes","last_name":"Luppe"},{"full_name":"Platzer, Konrad","last_name":"Platzer","first_name":"Konrad"},{"full_name":"Doergeloh, Beate B.","last_name":"Doergeloh","first_name":"Beate B."},{"first_name":"Andreas","full_name":"Busche, Andreas","last_name":"Busche"},{"first_name":"Saskia","full_name":"Biskup, Saskia","last_name":"Biskup"},{"first_name":"Marisa","last_name":"Mendes, I","full_name":"Mendes, I, Marisa"},{"full_name":"Smith, Desiree E. C.","last_name":"Smith","first_name":"Desiree E. C."},{"full_name":"Salomons, Gajja S.","last_name":"Salomons","first_name":"Gajja S."},{"first_name":"Arne","last_name":"Zibat","full_name":"Zibat, Arne"},{"full_name":"Bueltmann, Eva","last_name":"Bueltmann","first_name":"Eva"},{"first_name":"Peter","last_name":"Nuernberg","full_name":"Nuernberg, Peter"},{"full_name":"Spielmann, Malte","last_name":"Spielmann","first_name":"Malte"},{"last_name":"Lemke","full_name":"Lemke, Johannes R.","first_name":"Johannes R."},{"last_name":"Li","full_name":"Li, Yun","first_name":"Yun"},{"last_name":"Zenker","full_name":"Zenker, Martin","first_name":"Martin"},{"last_name":"Varshney","full_name":"Varshney, Gaurav K.","first_name":"Gaurav K."},{"full_name":"Hillen, Hauke S.","last_name":"Hillen","first_name":"Hauke S."},{"first_name":"Christian P.","last_name":"Kratz","full_name":"Kratz, Christian P."},{"first_name":"Bernd","last_name":"Wollnik","full_name":"Wollnik, Bernd"}],"year":"2022","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","page":"1454-1471","date_updated":"2023-09-25T08:43:06Z","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"keyword":["aminoacylation","aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase","ARS","CRISPR","Cas9","intellectual disability","microcephaly","SARS1","tRNA","WARS1","zebrafish"],"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"}]