Phylogenetic Evidence for Lateral Gene Transfer in the Intestine of Marine Iguanas
David M. Nelson, Isaac K. O. Cann, Eric Altermann et al. · 2010
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Description
David Nelson and colleagues found signs of gene swapping inside marine iguana guts, in PLOS ONE in 2010. Bacteria trade genes sideways, without reproduction, a process called lateral gene transfer. The trade is well documented in mammal guts. Whether it shapes the gut microbes of wild marine reptiles was unknown.
Gene family trees from iguana gut bacteria showed mismatched branches. Some genes had plainly arrived from unrelated microbes. The iguana gut, fed on seaweed, is thus another marketplace for bacterial genes. Gene trading speeds adaptation in gut communities, letting microbes pick up new food skills from neighbors instead of evolving them slowly.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | David M. Nelson, Isaac K. O. Cann, Eric Altermann et al. |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2010 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 35 KB |
| LICENSE | Creative Commons Attribution License |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | PLOS ONE |
Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010785