Gladstone Institutes researchers reported a retron-based genome editing approach that works across diverse bacterial species beyond E. coli. The study, published in Nature Biotechnology, describes “recombitrons” that pair modified retrons with single-stranded DNA binding and annealing proteins to deliver efficient, precise edits into bacterial chromosomes. In a nine-lab collaboration, the team translated the E. coli-derived system into 14 additional bacterial species spanning multiple phyla, aiming to unlock faster genetic engineering in organisms relevant to environmental, industrial, and potentially human health research. The work addresses a key limitation in bacterial engineering tool portability, offering a framework that could broaden pathogen and microbiome research capabilities that rely on high-efficiency genome editing.