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Classification of prokaryotic genetic replicators: between selfishness and altruism
Author(s) -
Jalasvuori Matti,
Koonin Eugene V.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.12696
Subject(s) - biology , horizontal gene transfer , evolutionary biology , phenotype , archaea , selfishness , genetics , bacteria , gene , phylogenetics , political science , law
Prokaryotes harbor a variety of genetic replicators, including plasmids, viruses, and chromosomes, each having different effects on the phenotype of the hosting cell. Here, we propose a classification for replicators of bacteria and archaea on the basis of their horizontal‐transfer potential and the type of relationships (mutualistic, symbiotic, commensal, or parasitic) that they have with the host cell vehicle. Horizontal movement of replicators can be either active or passive, reflecting whether or not the replicator encodes the means to mediate its own transfer from one cell to another. Some replicators also have an infectious extracellular state, thus separating viruses from other mobile elements. From the perspective of the cell vehicle, the different types of replicators form a continuum from genuinely mutualistic to completely parasitic replicators. This classification provides a general framework for dissecting prokaryotic systems into evolutionarily meaningful components.