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Updated: May 29, 2026
06:56
Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli
Published on: March 24, 2023
Detecting highways of horizontal gene transfer.
Mukul S Bansal1, Guy Banay, J Peter Gogarten
1The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Summary
We developed a new method to identify "highways" of extensive horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between species. This approach detects pairs of species with unusually high gene sharing, revealing complex evolutionary relationships.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genomics
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) involves gene exchange between unrelated species.
- While typically limited, some species pairs exhibit extensive gene sharing, termed
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a computational method for inferring gene sharing highways between species.
- To identify pairs of species linked by significant horizontal gene transfer.
Main Methods:
- Comparing gene trees with a trusted species tree to find phylogenetic inconsistencies.
- Decomposing gene trees into quartets and identifying those discordant with the species tree.
- Developing an efficient algorithm to find species pairs explaining the most discordant quartets.
Main Results:
- The method successfully identifies species pairs with extensive gene sharing (highways).
- An efficient O(m + n(2)) algorithm was developed for highway detection.
- Application to cyanobacteria and simulated data demonstrated the method's effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- The developed method provides an efficient way to detect extensive horizontal gene transfer highways.
- This aids in understanding complex evolutionary histories shaped by non-vertical gene flow.
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