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Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Metagenomic Analysis of Silage
Published on: January 13, 2017
Global divergence of microbial genome sequences mediated by propagating fronts
Kalin Vetsigian1, Nigel Goldenfeld
1Department of Physics and Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801-3080, USA.
Abstract:
We model the competition between homologous recombination and point mutation in microbial genomes, and present evidence for two distinct phases, one uniform, the other genetically diverse. Depending on the specifics of homologous recombination, we find that global sequence divergence can be mediated by fronts propagating along the genome, whose characteristic signature on genome structure is elucidated, and apparently observed in closely related Bacillus strains. Front propagation provides an emergent, generic mechanism for microbial "speciation," and suggests a classification of microorganisms on the basis of their propensity to support propagating fronts.
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