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Related Experiment Videos

Horizontal gene transfer and phylogenetics.

Hervé Philippe1, Christophe J Douady

  • 1Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Département de Biochimie, Université de Montréal, Qc., H3C 3J7, Montréal, Canada. herve.philippe@umontreal.ca

Current Opinion in Microbiology
|October 24, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Phylogenetic analysis of prokaryotes is possible despite frequent horizontal gene transfer (HGT). A core set of genes reveals a coherent evolutionary pattern, though HGTs still shape microbial history.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is frequent in microorganisms, challenging phylogenetic inference.
  • Complete genome analyses initially suggested HGT could make organismal phylogeny impossible.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the feasibility of inferring prokaryotic phylogeny amidst high HGT rates.
  • To estimate the frequency and impact of HGT in a phylogenetic context.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a conserved set of approximately 100 genes (the 'core genome').
  • Estimation of HGT frequencies at the genome-wide level within a phylogenetic framework.

Main Results:

  • A coherent phylogenetic pattern emerged from the core gene analysis, supporting prokaryotic phylogeny inference.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Genome-wide HGT frequency was estimated to be relatively low but biologically significant.

    • Conclusions:

    • Prokaryotic phylogeny can be inferred using core genes, despite pervasive HGT.
    • Microbial history is not solely represented by core phylogeny; a network model incorporating HGT is necessary.