Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

Amplification of Near Full-length HIV-1 Proviruses for Next-Generation Sequencing
Published on: October 16, 2018
HGT-Gen: a tool for generating a phylogenetic tree with horizontal gene transfer
Unlabelled:
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a common event in prokaryotic evolution. Therefore, it is very important to consider HGT in the study of molecular evolution of prokaryotes. This is true also for conducting computer simulations of their molecular phylogeny because HGT is known to be a serious disturbing factor for estimating their correct phylogeny. To the best of our knowledge, no existing computer program has generated a phylogenetic tree with HGT from an original phylogenetic tree. We developed a program called HGT-Gen that generates a phylogenetic tree with HGT on the basis of an original phylogenetic tree of a protein or gene. HGT-Gen converts an operational taxonomic unit or a clade from one place to another in a given phylogenetic tree. We have also devised an algorithm to compute the average length between any pair of branches in the tree. It defines and computes the relative evolutionary time to normalize evolutionary time for each lineage. The algorithm can generate an HGT between a pair of donor and acceptor lineages at the same evolutionary time. HGT-Gen is used with a sequence-generating program to evaluate the influence of HGT on the molecular phylogeny of prokaryotes in a computer simulation study.
Availability:
The database is available for free at http://www.grl.shizuoka.ac.jp/˜thoriike/HGT-Gen.html.
Related Concept Videos
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Transduction
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
Evolution of Microbial Genome
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

