Integron

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An integron is a gene capture system found in plasmids , chromosomes and transposons.Pieces of DNA called gene cassettes can be incorporated, expressed, and disseminated.

An integron with a large number of cassettes may be called a super-integron, as in Vibrio cholerae. A cassette may encode genes for antibiotic resistance although most genes in integrons are uncharacterized. An integron should contain an integrase related to those of phage, an attI site for integration, a promoter to drive expression, and the ability to incorporate cassettes. An integron may appear in a plasmid or on the chromosome. The attC site becomes a repeat that flanks cassettes and enables cassettes to be excised and undergo Horizontal gene transfer.