PUBLICATION
Horizontal functional gene transfer from bacteria to fishes
- Authors
- Sun, B.F., Li, T., Xiao, J.H., Jia, L.Y., Liu, L., Zhang, P., Murphy, R.W., He, S.M., Huang, D.W.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-170214-61
- Date
- 2015
- Source
- Scientific Reports 5: 18676 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keywords
- Evolutionary theory, Molecular evolution
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Bacteria/genetics*
- Conserved Sequence
- Fishes/genetics*
- Gene Transfer, Horizontal*
- Phylogeny
- Physical Chromosome Mapping
- Seawater/microbiology
- Selection, Genetic
- Species Specificity
- Zebrafish/genetics
- PubMed
- 26691285 Full text @ Sci. Rep.
Citation
Sun, B.F., Li, T., Xiao, J.H., Jia, L.Y., Liu, L., Zhang, P., Murphy, R.W., He, S.M., Huang, D.W. (2015) Horizontal functional gene transfer from bacteria to fishes. Scientific Reports. 5:18676.
Abstract
Invertebrates can acquire functional genes via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from bacteria but fishes are not known to do so. We provide the first reliable evidence of one HGT event from marine bacteria to fishes. The HGT appears to have occurred after emergence of the teleosts. The transferred gene is expressed and regulated developmentally. Its successful integration and expression may change the genetic and metabolic repertoire of fishes. In addition, this gene contains conserved domains and similar tertiary structures in fishes and their putative donor bacteria. Thus, it may function similarly in both groups. Evolutionary analyses indicate that it evolved under purifying selection, further indicating its conserved function. We document the first likely case of HGT of functional gene from prokaryote to fishes. This discovery certifies that HGT can influence vertebrate evolution.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping