Open AccessRecombination resolves the cost of horizontal gene transfer in experimental populations of Helicobacter pylori
Author(s) -
Aithanh Nguyen,
Laura C. Woods,
Rebecca J. Gorrell,
Shamitraa Ramanan,
Terry Kwok,
Michael J. McDonald
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2119010119
Subject(s) - horizontal gene transfer , biology , natural selection , adaptation (eye) , genetics , recombination , selection (genetic algorithm) , decoupling (probability) , genetic drift , genetic variation , transformation (genetics) , microbial genetics , gene pool , mutation rate , gene , evolutionary biology , genetic recombination , genetic diversity , population , genome , demography , control engineering , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , sociology , computer science , engineering
Significance Horizontal gene transfer (HGT)—the transfer of DNA between lineages—is responsible for a large proportion of the genetic variation that contributes to evolution in microbial populations. While HGT can bring beneficial genetic innovation, the transfer of DNA from other species or strains can also have deleterious effects. In this study, we evolve populations of the bacteriaHelicobacter pylori and use DNA sequencing to identify over 40,000 genetic variants transferred by HGT. We measure the cost of many of these and find that both strongly beneficial mutations and deleterious mutations are genetic variants transferred by natural transformation. Importantly, we also show how recombination that separates linked beneficial and deleterious mutations resolves the cost of HGT.