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Updated: Aug 19, 2025
08:03
Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
Published on: December 7, 2021
2.3K
Reconstructing horizontal gene flow network to understand prokaryotic evolution.
Soham Sengupta1, Rajeev K Azad1,2
1Department of Biological Sciences and BioDiscovery Institute, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA.
Open Biology
|November 29, 2022
Summary
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) drives microbial evolution and adaptation. This study introduces a novel network to precisely track gene flow between prokaryotic taxa, revealing new insights into genetic exchange.
Area of Science:
- Microbial genomics and evolutionary biology
- Bioinformatics and computational biology
Background:
- Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key driver of phenotypic innovation and niche adaptation in prokaryotes.
- Understanding the extent and impact of HGT is crucial for deciphering microbial evolution.
- Existing HGT detection methods have limitations in identifying specific donor-recipient relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a robust method for quantifying HGT and its role in microbial adaptation.
- To construct a high-confidence horizontal gene flow network.
- To identify specific donor and recipient taxa involved in gene transfer events.
Main Methods:
- Integrated phylogenetic-based and composition-based approaches for HGT detection.
- Developed a novel scale-free horizontal gene flow network.
- The network directly identifies native gene transfer between donor and recipient genomes.
Main Results:
- Successfully constructed a high-confidence horizontal gene flow network.
- The network accurately detects the transfer of native genes between different taxa.
- Revealed differential gene flow patterns across various prokaryotic phyla.
Conclusions:
- The developed network offers a unique approach to understanding HGT dynamics.
- Provides new insights into the mechanisms and scale of genetic information exchange in prokaryotes.
- Highlights the importance of HGT in microbial evolution and adaptation across diverse phyla.
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