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Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
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Alta frecuencia de la transferencia horizontal de genes en los océanos
Lauren D McDaniel1, Elizabeth Young, Jennifer Delaney
1University of South Florida College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA. mcdaniel@marine.usf.edu
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|October 9, 2010
Resumen
Las bacterias marinas utilizan agentes de transferencia génica (GTA), que son partículas similares a los virus, para facilitar la transferencia génica horizontal (HGT). Este proceso aumenta significativamente el intercambio de genes entre los microbios oceánicos, mejorando su capacidad de adaptación a los cambios ambientales.
Área de la Ciencia:
- Microbiología marina microbiología marina.
- La genómica ambiental es una genómica ambiental.
- Ecología viral ecología viral.
Sus antecedentes:
- Las bacterias oceánicas son cruciales para las funciones ambientales como el ciclo biogeoquímico y las redes alimentarias.
- La transferencia horizontal de genes (HGT) es un fenómeno conocido en entornos marinos, pero sus mecanismos y frecuencia no se comprenden completamente.
Objetivo del estudio:
- Investigar el papel de los agentes de transferencia génica (GTA) en la mediación de la HGT entre las bacterias marinas.
- Cuantificar la frecuencia de la transferencia génica mediada por GTA en entornos oceánicos y costeros.
Principales métodos:
- Identificación y caracterización de las GTA producidas por las α-proteobacterias.
- Cuantificación de las frecuencias de transferencia de genes mediadas por GTA utilizando comunidades microbianas naturales.
- Evaluación del porcentaje de comunidad microbiana cultivable que actúa como receptor de genes.
Principales resultados:
- Se encontró que las frecuencias de HGT mediadas por agentes de transferencia génica eran significativamente más altas (10^3 a 10^8 veces) de lo estimado anteriormente.
- Se confirmó que hasta el 47% de las bacterias marinas cultivables eran receptores de genes transferidos.
- Las α-Proteobacteria fueron identificadas como productores de estos influyentes GTAs.
Conclusiones:
- Las GTA representan un mecanismo importante que impulsa la generalización de la HGT en las bacterias marinas.
- Este eficiente mecanismo de transferencia de genes probablemente contribuye a la adaptabilidad y resiliencia de las comunidades microbianas marinas.
- Comprender la HGT mediada por GTA es clave para comprender la evolución microbiana y la dinámica ecológica en el océano.
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