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Related Concept Videos

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

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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.
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Horizontal Gene Transfer01:27

Horizontal Gene Transfer

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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:...
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Transduction01:16

Transduction

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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...
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Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes03:21

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

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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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Bacterial Transformation01:33

Bacterial Transformation

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In 1928, bacteriologist Frederick Griffith worked on a vaccine for pneumonia, which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Griffith studied two pneumonia strains in mice: one pathogenic and one non-pathogenic. Only the pathogenic strain killed host mice.
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
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Mechanism of Conjugation01:19

Mechanism of Conjugation

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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...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
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Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus

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Horizontal gene transfer and adaptive evolution in bacteria.

Brian J Arnold1,2, I-Ting Huang3, William P Hanage4

  • 1Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. brianjohnarnold@gmail.com.

Nature Reviews. Microbiology
|November 13, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) drives bacterial evolution, with detectable genomic signatures when beneficial. This review explores HGT mechanisms, evolutionary theory, and methods to identify adaptive gene transfers in bacteria.

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Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
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Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli
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Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
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Area of Science:

  • Bacterial Evolution
  • Genomics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a primary driver of bacterial genome evolution.
  • Evidence of HGT is prevalent across bacterial genomes, significantly altering their genetic makeup.
  • Not all HGT events are adaptive; many reflect ongoing evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the mechanisms and evolutionary significance of HGT in bacteria.
  • To discuss the genetic signatures indicative of adaptive HGT and positive selection.
  • To explore bioinformatic approaches for detecting HGT-associated adaptation.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on HGT mechanisms and evolutionary theory.
  • Analysis of genetic signatures resulting from HGT and positive selection.
  • Discussion of bioinformatic algorithms for pattern detection in genomic variation.

Main Results:

  • HGT significantly impacts bacterial genomes, with adaptive transfers leaving specific genomic signatures.
  • Positive selection acting on transferred genes can lead to detectable patterns like gene sweeps.
  • Various bioinformatic tools have been developed to identify these signatures and infer adaptive HGT.

Conclusions:

  • HGT is a crucial evolutionary force in bacteria, particularly when coupled with positive selection.
  • Understanding HGT mechanisms and detection methods is key to deciphering bacterial adaptation to new environments.
  • Continued development of bioinformatic approaches will enhance our ability to identify adaptive DNA transfers.