Editorial

This special issue contains fourteen refereed papers whose content is based on presentations at the biennial scientific meeting of the International Society for Plasmid Biology, which was held in Palm Cove in tropical North Queensland, Australia, from Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2014. The meeting was attended by over 100 plasmid biologists from 18 different countries. In warm and convivial surroundings, untroubled by either crocodiles or lethal jellyfish, the delegates presented and discussed the latest exciting findings in this field. The meeting included sessions on conjugation, plasmid ecology and evolution, replication and partitioning, mobile genetic elements, plasmid diversity – bioinformatics and genomes, and physiology and biotechnology. Most of these topics are covered by papers that have been selected for publication in this special issue.