ArticleGenome biology2003
The source of laterally transferred genes in bacterial genomes.
Article in Genome biology, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers.
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93 citing papers in PubMed, 179 citations in OpenAlex.
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- The eukaryotic horizontal gene transfer dataset a compendium.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Novel adaptive immune systems in pristine Antarctic soils.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comprehensive Genomic Characterization of Marine BacteriaMicrobiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Current Methods for Recombination Detection in Bacteria.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Global population structure of theMicrobial genomics · 2022Article
- Examining horizontal gene transfer in microbial communities.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2021Review
- Improved metagenome binning and assembly using deep variational autoencoders.Nature biotechnology · 2021Article
- Detection of horizontal gene transfer in the genome of the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Acquisition ofMicrobial genomics · 2021Article
- The phylogenomics of CRISPR-Cas system and revelation of its features in Salmonella.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Modular prophage interactions driven by capsule serotype select for capsule loss under phage predation.The ISME journal · 2020Article
- Metagenome-assembled genome binning methods with short reads disproportionately fail for plasmids and genomic Islands.Microbial genomics · 2020Article
- Genome and sequence determinants governing the expression of horizontally acquired DNA in bacteria.The ISME journal · 2020Article
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- Symbiosis genes show a unique pattern of introgression and selection within aMicrobial genomics · 2020Article
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- Comparative genomic analysis of the secondary flagellar (flag-2) system in the order Enterobacterales.BMC genomics · 2020Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLaterally transferred genes have often been identified on the basis of compositional features that distinguish them from ancestral genes in the genome. These genes are usually A+T-rich, arguing either that there is a bias towards acquiring genes from donor organisms having low G+C contents or that genes acquired from organisms of similar genomic base compositions go undetected in these analyses.
resultsBy examining the genome contents of closely related, fully sequenced bacteria, we uncovered genes confined to a single genome and examined the sequence features of these acquired genes. The analysis shows that few transfer events are overlooked by compositional analyses. Most observed lateral gene transfers do not correspond to free exchange of regular genes among bacterial genomes, but more probably represent the constituents of phages or other selfish elements.
conclusionsAlthough bacteria tend to acquire large amounts of DNA, the origin of these genes remains obscure. We have shown that contrary to what is often supposed, their composition cannot be explained by a previous genomic context. In contrast, these genes fit the description of recently described genes in lambdoid phages, named 'morons'. Therefore, results from genome content and compositional approaches to detect lateral transfers should not be cited as evidence for genetic exchange between distantly related bacteria.
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