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Updated: May 11, 2026
10:39
Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
Published on: March 10, 2017
Exploring the costs of horizontal gene transfer
1School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0036, USA. baltrus@email.arizona.edu
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|May 28, 2013
Summary
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) benefits microbes but can disrupt genomes. Understanding these costs is key to exploring HGT's evolutionary impact and genetic diversity.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Evolution
- Genomics
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a major evolutionary driver in microbial populations.
- While HGT often confers fitness advantages, newly acquired genes can function inefficiently, disrupting recipient genomes.
- The costs associated with HGT are crucial for understanding its evolutionary consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of identifying and exploring the costs of HGT.
- To guide discussions on the interplay between selection and HGT.
- To generate hypotheses on how HGT influences adaptive trajectories and evolutionary potential.
Main Methods:
- Focusing on the costs of HGT as a foundation for future research.
- Investigating the interface between acquired genomic regions and recipient genomes.
- Exploring the process of amelioration and its role in HGT costs.
- Enabling experimental evaluation of HGT's role in genetic diversity.
Main Results:
- Evidence overwhelmingly supports the beneficial fitness effects of HGT.
- Acquired genomic regions may initially function inefficiently in new backgrounds.
- HGT has the potential to disrupt existing regulatory and physiological networks.
Conclusions:
- Identifying HGT costs is essential for understanding its evolutionary role.
- Future studies should focus on the interface between acquired DNA and recipient genomes.
- Experimental evaluation is needed to assess HGT's impact on genetic diversity and adaptive potential.
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