Genomic islands are mobile DNAs found in bacterial and archaeal chromosomes. They are major agents of prokaryotic evolution because they can carry genes that contribute to pathogenicity, metabolism, etc. This site focuses on what we consider canonical genomic islands: those found 1) integrated into tRNA or tmRNA genes, 2) with both attachment sites present, and 3) encoding an integrase of the tyrosine recombinase family.
Current population: 4065 islands in 1313 archaeal and bacterial genomes (the remaining 857 tested genomes yielded no islands), although 341 of these are marked as false positives based on subsequent testing.
Searching the Islander Database
1. Click Search in the left-hand menu for autofilling text entry
2. Click Browse by Taxonomy in the left-hand menu for a Krona chart allowing navigation to any taxonomic rank down to species (once you've clicked on a Krona sector, the links to the taxon and its islands will appear at upper right)
3. Use the dropdown menu below if you're looking for a particular tRNA type