The free availability of online software to undertake molecular evolutionary analysis coupled with the free availability of
large amounts of sequence data has made the analysis of the spread of antibiotic resistance determinants amenable in an
educational context. Software such as ACT (Artemis Comparison Tool) [1] can be utilised to extract useful evolutionary
information from sequence databases with a focus on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance determinants. The utility of
this resource is illustrated here using the SXT/R391 family of Integrating Conjugative Elements (ICE). These ICE’s
contain multiple antibiotic resistance determinants [2]. Using a stepwise tutorial with ACT, the elements are examined
showing the utility of this software for such analysis in an evolutionary context. These examples are aimed at
demonstrating the utility of the software for undergraduate and early postgraduate students.