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Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

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Co-evolution and Gene Transfers Drive Speciation Patterns in Host-Associated Bacteria.

Caroline Stott¹, Awa Diop¹, Kasie Raymann^1,2

¹Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.

Molecular Biology and Evolution

|December 17, 2024

Summary

Bacterial speciation in bees is shaped by both geographic isolation (allopatric) and host-specific adaptations (sympatric). Homologous recombination is restricted between hosts, while horizontal gene transfer crosses species boundaries, influencing microbial evolution.

Keywords:

bacteria honeybee horizontal gene transfer speciation symbiosis

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Conjugative Mating Assays for Sequence-specific Analysis of Transfer Proteins Involved in Bacterial Conjugation

Conjugative Mating Assays for Sequence-specific Analysis of Transfer Proteins Involved in Bacterial Conjugation

Published on: January 4, 2017

Area of Science:

Microbial evolution
Bacterial speciation
Host-microbe interactions

Background:

Understanding bacterial speciation, particularly allopatric versus sympatric processes, is challenging.
Host-associated microbial communities evolve within specific environmental niches.
Eusocial bees offer a valuable model system for studying co-evolved microbiota over 85 million years.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate speciation patterns and evolution of seven specialized gut bacteria from honey bees and bumblebees.
To analyze homologous recombination (HR) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in relation to species delineation.
To determine the impact of HR and HGT on bacterial speciation in a host-associated context.

Main Methods:

Genomic analyses of seven specialized gut bacteria from three eusocial bee clades.
Inference of species delineation using patterns of homologous recombination (HR).
Assessment of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events and their distribution.

Main Results:

Homologous recombination (HR) was interrupted between bacteria from different bee hosts, supporting allopatric speciation.
HR interruptions within hosts suggest recent or ongoing sympatric speciation.
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events were not constrained by species borders.

Conclusions:

Bacterial speciation in bees is driven by both allopatric and sympatric processes.
Homologous recombination and horizontal gene transfer have distinct impacts on bacterial speciation.
Host-associated microbial populations exhibit complex evolutionary dynamics influenced by both recombination and gene transfer.