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Related Concept Videos

Horizontal Gene Transfer01:27

Horizontal Gene Transfer

67
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:...
67
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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Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

29.1K
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.
29.1K
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?02:05

Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?

7.3K
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.
In contrast, regions which code...
7.3K
Gene Flow02:39

Gene Flow

35.4K
Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.
35.4K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

59.2K
In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
59.2K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 19, 2025

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

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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
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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.

Keywords:
gene clusteringhorizontal gene transfernetworkphyletic patternprokaryotes

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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.