1. Whole genome transplantation in Mollicutes Jörg Jores, Fabien Labroussaa and Sergi Torres Puig 2. Natural transformation as a tool in Acinetobacter baylyi: evolution by amplification of gene copy number Ellen L. Neidle, Suvi Santala and Isabel Pardo Mendoza 3. Natural transformation as a tool in Acinetobacter baylyi: streamlined engineering and mutational analysis Suvi Santala, Ellen L. Neidle and Isabel Pardo Mendoza 4. Methods to characterize cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters in Streptomyces Chung Thanh Nguyen 5. Genome engineering in bacteria: current and prospective applications Ruben Dario Arroyo Olarte, Edgar Morales Ríos and Karla Daniela Rodríguez Hernández 6. Tools for activation and identification of cryptic biosynthesis pathways in Streptomyces Hue Nguyen