ReviewFEMS immunology and medical microbiology2010
The distributed genome hypothesis as a rubric for understanding evolution in situ during chronic bacterial biofilm infectious processes.
Review in FEMS immunology and medical microbiology, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- ThemBio · 2026Article
- A bacterial pangenome association study identifies a role for polyamine metabolism and alkaline tolerance in middle ear infections.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Nanowire-Mediated Eradication of Polymicrobial Biofilms.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Characterization of the family-levelmBio · 2025Article
- Metronidazole response profiles of Gardnerella species are congruent with phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- UnderstandingCells · 2023Article
- Using SMART Magnetic Fluids and Gels for Prevention and Destruction of Bacterial Biofilms.Microorganisms · 2023Article
- Evidence supportive of a bacterial component in the etiology for Alzheimer's disease and for a temporal-spatial development of a pathogenic microbiome in the brain.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Advances in bacteriophage-mediated strategies for combating polymicrobial biofilms.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Review
- Flavaspidic acid BB combined with mupirocin improves its anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activities against Staphylococcus epidermidis.BMC microbiology · 2022Article
- Low-molecular weight chitosan enhances antibacterial effect of antibiotics and permeabilizes cytoplasmic membrane of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm cells.Folia microbiologica · 2021Article
- Beyond the pan-genome: current perspectives on the functional and practical outcomes of the distributed genome hypothesis.Biochemical Society transactions · 2020Review
- The Development of a Pipeline for the Identification and Validation of Small-Molecule RelA Inhibitors for Use as Anti-Biofilm Drugs.Microorganisms · 2020Article
- Article
- The Histidine Decarboxylase Gene Cluster ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2017Article
- Large scale genomic analysis shows no evidence for pathogen adaptation between the blood and cerebrospinal fluid niches during bacterial meningitis.Microbial genomics · 2017Article
- Polymerase Chain Reaction-Electrospray-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Versus Culture for Bacterial Detection in Septic Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.Genetic testing and molecular biomarkers · 2016Article
- Comparing culture and molecular methods for the identification of microorganisms involved in necrotizing soft tissue infections.BMC infectious diseases · 2016Article
- Screening out irrelevant cell-based models of disease.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Most chronic infectious disease processes associated with bacteria are characterized by the formation of a biofilm that provides for bacterial attachment to the host tissue or the implanted medical device. The biofilm protects the bacteria from the host's adaptive immune response as well as predation by phagocytic cells. However, the most insidious aspect of biofilm biology from the host's point of view is that the biofilm provides an ideal setting for bacterial horizontal gene transfer (HGT). HGT provides for large-scale genome content changes in situ during the chronic infectious process. Obviously, for HGT processes to result in the reassortment of alleles and genes among bacterial strains, the infection must be polyclonal (polymicrobial) in nature. In this review, we marshal the evidence that all of the factors are present in biofilm infections to support HGT that results in the ongoing production of novel strains with unique combinations of genic characteristics and that the continual production of large numbers of novel, but related bacterial strains leads to persistence. This concept of an infecting population of bacteria undergoing mutagenesis to produce a 'cloud' of similar strains to confuse and overwhelm the host's immune system parallels genetic diversity strategies used by viral and parasitic pathogens.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.