Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays
Published on: November 12, 2012
Quartet mapping and the extent of lateral transfer in bacterial genomes
Vincent Daubin1, Howard Ochman
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. daubin@email.arizona.edu
Abstract:
Several recent analyses have used quartet-based methods to assess the congruence among phylogenies derived for large sets of genes from prokaryotic genomes. The principal conclusion from these studies is that lateral gene transfer (LGT) has blurred prokaryotic phylogenies to such a degree that the darwinian scheme of treelike evolution might be abandoned in favor of a net or web. Here, we focus on one of these methods, quartet mapping, and show that its application can lead to overestimation of the extent of inferred LGT in prokaryotes, particularly when applied to distantly related taxa.
Related Concept Videos
Genomic DNA in Prokaryotes
Genomic Diversity in Bacteria
Although bacterial genomes are much...
Coordination of Gene Expression Processes in Bacteria
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Mechanism of Conjugation
Modern Molecular Taxonomy
Evolution of Microbial Genome

