Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38443606›Full record

ArticleNature ecology & evolution2024

A global survey of prokaryotic genomes reveals the eco-evolutionary pressures driving horizontal gene transfer.

Marija Dmitrijeva, Janko Tackmann, João Frederico Matias Rodrigues, Jaime Huerta-Cepas, Luis Pedro Coelho, Christian von Mering

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed
14.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

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  17. Core genome expansion inIranian journal of microbiology · 2025
    Article
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  19. Article
  20. Jumbo phage-mediated transduction of genomic islands.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Marija DmitrijevaDepartment of Molecular Life Sciences and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8561-6490
Janko TackmannDepartment of Molecular Life Sciences and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1467-2863
João Frederico Matias RodriguesDepartment of Molecular Life Sciences and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8413-9920
Jaime Huerta-CepasCentro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo-UPM, Madrid, Spain.
Luis Pedro Coelho *Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. luispedro@big-data-biology.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9280-7885
Christian von Mering *Department of Molecular Life Sciences and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. mering@mls.uzh.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7734-9102
SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics · CHInstituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria · ESTranslational Research Institute · AU

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 310030-192569Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 51NF40_180575Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission) 2018SHZDZX01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer, the exchange of genetic material through means other than reproduction, is a fundamental force in prokaryotic genome evolution. Genomic persistence of horizontally transferred genes has been shown to be influenced by both ecological and evolutionary factors. However, there is limited availability of ecological information about species other than the habitats from which they were isolated, which has prevented a deeper exploration of ecological contributions to horizontal gene transfer. Here we focus on transfers detected through comparison of individual gene trees to the species tree, assessing the distribution of gene-exchanging prokaryotes across over a million environmental sequencing samples. By analysing detected horizontal gene transfer events, we show distinct functional profiles for recent versus old events. Although most genes transferred are part of the accessory genome, genes transferred earlier in evolution tend to be more ubiquitous within present-day species. We find that co-occurring, interacting and high-abundance species tend to exchange more genes. Finally, we show that host-associated specialist species are most likely to exchange genes with other host-associated specialist species, whereas species found across different habitats have similar gene exchange rates irrespective of their preferred habitat. Our study covers an unprecedented scale of integrated horizontal gene transfer and environmental information, highlighting broad eco-evolutionary trends.

Indexed as

BacteriaGene Transfer, HorizontalArchaeaEcosystemEvolution, MolecularGenome, ArchaealGenome, Bacterial

Identifiers

PMID38443606
PMCPMC11090817
OpenAlexW4392469688

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.