Embracing the enemy: the diversification of microbial gene repertoires by phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer

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Touchon, Marie | Moura de Sousa, Jorge, A | Rocha, Eduardo, P. C.

Edité par CCSD ; Elsevier -

International audience. Bacteriophages and archaeal viruses contribute, through lysogenic conversion or transduction, to the horizontal transfer of genetic material between cellular genomes. Recent works using a variety of approaches have shown that lysogenic conversion is widespread and provides hosts with adaptive traits often associated with biotic interactions. The quantification of the evolutionary impact of transduction has lagged behind and still requires further theoretical and experimental work. Nevertheless, recent studies have suggested that generalized transduction could play a role in the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes and in gene acquisition during intra-specific competition. Phage-mediated horizontal transfer has specific characteristics that complement other mechanisms of transfer. Notably, they could play a key role in the spread of adaptive genes between communities.

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