Evidences of lateral gene transfer between archaea and pathogenic bacteri

Evidences of lateral gene transfer between archaea and pathogenic bacteria

Acquisition of new genetic material through horizontal gene transfer has been shown to be an important feature in the evolution of many pathogenic bacteria. Changes in the genetic repertoire, occurring through gene acquisition and deletion, are the major events underlying the emergence and evolution of bacterial pathogens. However, horizontal gene transfer across the domains i.e. archaea and ba...

The genome of Methanosarcina mazei: evidence for lateral gene transfer between bacteria and archaea.

The Archaeon Methanosarcina mazei and related species are of great ecological importance as they are the only organisms fermenting acetate, methylamines and methanol to methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia (in case of methylamines). Since acetate is the precursor of 60% of the methane produced on earth these organisms contribute significantly to the production of this greenhouse gas, e.g. in ric...

Horizontal transfer of catalase-peroxidase genes between archaea and pathogenic bacteria.

Lateral Gene Transfer (LGT) between Archaea and Escherichia coli is a contributor to the emergence of novel infectious disease

BACKGROUND Lateral gene transfer is the major mechanism for acquisition of new virulence genes in pathogens. Recent whole genome analyses have suggested massive gene transfer between widely divergent organisms. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS Archeal-like genes acting as virulence genes are present in several pathogens and genomes contain a number of archaeal-like genes of unknown function. Ar...

Lateral and oblique gene transfer.

Sequence information from complete genomes, and from multiple loci of strains within species, is transforming the way that we investigate the evolution of bacteria. Such large-scale assessments of bacterial genomes have provided evidence of extensive gene transfer and exchange. Except in rare cases, these two processes do not seem to be coupled: certain species, such as Escherichia coli, underg...