Horizontal Gene Transfers in Prokaryotes
Author Information
Author(s): Kanhere Aditi, Vingron Martin
Primary Institution: Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics
Hypothesis
The study investigates the differential preferences for metabolic and translational genes in horizontal gene transfers among prokaryotes.
Conclusion
Most horizontal gene transfers between archaea and bacteria occur from bacteria to archaea, primarily involving metabolic genes.
Supporting Evidence
- The method identified 171 genes likely to have been horizontally transferred.
- Simulations showed that the method can detect transfers more efficiently than previous methods.
- The majority of genes transferred between archaea and bacteria are metabolic genes.
Takeaway
Bacteria can share genes with archaea, and this mostly happens when bacteria give their genes to archaea, helping them survive better.
Methodology
The study used simulations and outlier detection methods to analyze horizontal gene transfers in 1965 orthologous protein families.
Potential Biases
The method may produce false positives if the protein families do not evolve at a constant rate.
Limitations
The method may not detect transfers among closely related bacteria and relies on the availability of orthologous protein sequences.
Statistical Information
P-Value
<10-5
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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