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Related Concept Videos

Horizontal Gene Transfer01:27

Horizontal Gene Transfer

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a process where genetic material moves between organisms within the same generation, unlike vertical gene transfer, which occurs from parent to offspring. HGT plays a crucial role in microbial evolution, adaptation, and survival, particularly in shared environments like the human gut.Mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, prophages, integrons, insertion sequences, and transposons facilitate this process. HGT occurs through three primary mechanisms:...
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

Genetic transfer occurs when genetic information is passed from one organism to another. It occurs via two mechanisms: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer occurs when genetic information is transferred from one generation to the next, which happens much more frequently than horizontal gene transfer. Both sexual and asexual reproduction are forms of vertical gene transfer, where one or more organisms pass some or all of their genome onto their progeny.
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

Genetic transfer occurs when genetic information is passed from one organism to another. It occurs via two mechanisms: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer occurs when genetic information is transferred from one generation to the next, which happens much more frequently than horizontal gene transfer. Both sexual and asexual reproduction are forms of vertical gene transfer, where one or more organisms pass some or all of their genome onto their progeny.
Transduction01:16

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...
Mechanism of Conjugation01:19

Mechanism of Conjugation

Bacterial conjugation is a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer that enables the exchange of genetic material between bacterial cells through direct contact. This process is facilitated by a donor cell carrying a conjugative plasmid, which encodes genes necessary for pilus formation, DNA replication, and transfer. The conjugative plasmid plays a central role in initiating and executing the transfer of genetic material.The tra region of the conjugative plasmid encodes proteins responsible for...
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes03:21

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli
06:56

Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli

Published on: March 24, 2023

Plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer is a coevolutionary process.

Ellie Harrison1, Michael A Brockhurst

  • 1Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Bioscience Building, Liverpool, UK.

Trends in Microbiology
|May 9, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Conjugative plasmids drive bacterial adaptation through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Understanding this requires a coevolutionary framework, considering both bacterial and plasmid adaptation.

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Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli
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Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli

Published on: March 24, 2023

Quantification of Plasmid-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in an Experimental Evolution Approach
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Quantification of Plasmid-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in an Experimental Evolution Approach

Published on: December 14, 2019

Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
10:39

Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus

Published on: March 10, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Conjugative plasmids facilitate horizontal gene transfer (HGT), accelerating bacterial adaptation by spreading beneficial traits.
  • Plasmids incur carriage costs, creating a paradox: non-beneficial plasmids should be lost, and beneficial genes integrated into the chromosome.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a coevolutionary framework for understanding bacterial conjugation and plasmid dynamics.
  • To explain how bacterial and plasmid co-adaptation resolves the paradox of plasmid persistence.

Main Methods:

  • Drawing upon evidence from experimental evolution studies.
  • Analyzing the interplay between bacterial adaptation and plasmid carriage.

Main Results:

  • Ecological solutions alone do not fully explain plasmid persistence.
  • Co-adaptation between bacteria and conjugative plasmids is crucial for understanding HGT dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Horizontal gene transfer via conjugation is best understood within a coevolutionary context.
  • Bacterial-plasmid co-adaptation provides a resolution to the paradox of conjugative plasmid existence.