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Related Concept Videos

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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The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
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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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The genome of most prokaryotic organisms consists of double-stranded DNA organized into one circular chromosome in a region of cytoplasm called the nucleoid. The chromosome is tightly wound, or supercoiled, for efficient storage. Prokaryotes also contain other circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. These plasmids are smaller than the chromosome and often carry genes that confer adaptive functions, such as antibiotic resistance.
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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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Other than maintaining genome stability via DNA repair, homologous recombination plays an important role in diversifying the genome. In fact, the recombination of sequences forms the molecular basis of genomic evolution. Random and non-random permutations of genomic sequences create a library of new amalgamated sequences. These newly formed genomes can determine the fitness and survival of cells. In bacteria, homologous and non-homologous types of recombination lead to the evolution of new...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 23, 2025

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
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Evolutionary jumps in bacterial GC content.

Saurabh Mahajan1,2, Deepa Agashe1

  • 1National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, India.

G3 (Bethesda, Md.)
|May 17, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genomic Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content evolution in bacteria is diverse. Phylogenetic analysis reveals gradual changes and evolutionary jumps, with increases and decreases in GC content occurring equally.

Keywords:
Lévy jumpsecological driversphylogenetic models

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Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics
  • Microbial Evolution

Background:

  • Genomic Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content is a key molecular trait influencing bacterial genomic features.
  • The evolution of diverse bacterial GC content is not fully understood, with limited systematic phylogenetic studies.
  • Previous research often focused on GC content reduction, overlooking increases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically analyze the evolution of bacterial GC content using phylogenetic comparative models.
  • To investigate the patterns and drivers of GC content diversification across major bacterial phyla.
  • To identify novel bacterial clades and contexts associated with rapid GC content shifts.

Main Methods:

  • Application of phylogenetic comparative models to analyze GC content evolution.
  • Study included multiple bacterial groups across two major bacterial phyla.
  • Analysis focused on identifying gradual evolution and evolutionary 'jumps' in GC content.

Main Results:

  • Bacterial GC content diversifies through both gradual evolution and significant evolutionary jumps.
  • A comparable number of GC content increases and decreases were observed, challenging prior assumptions.
  • Identified GC content jumps in diverse lineages, not limited to endosymbiotic or marine bacteria, and did not support oxygen dependence.

Conclusions:

  • Bacterial GC content evolution is characterized by both gradual shifts and rapid jumps in both directions.
  • The study highlights novel bacterial clades and contexts for understanding GC content evolution drivers.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the ecological and evolutionary factors behind these genomic trait shifts.