Most genes are passed down from parent to offspring. But sometimes genes can be transferred between two cells that aren’t directly related.
Scientists know broadly how this process of horizontal, or lateral, gene transfer works and that it can be an essential force of evolution, especially for single-celled organisms. But they haven’t had the tools to quantify the process — until now.
A new study in The ISME Journal, led by researchers at Bigelow Laboratory’s Single Cell Genomics Center, provides the first analysis of gene transfer rates across an entire microbiome, estimating what percentage of genes an average cell line in the surface ocean acquires via lateral gene transfer. It highlights the value of recent advances in computer modeling and single-cell sequencing that have enabled this kind of quantitative research and helps reveal how microbes have evolved their incredible capacity to drive global ocean processes.
Co-authors on the study includes Senior Research Scientist Julia Brown and SCGC Bioinformatician Greg Gavelis, as well as researchers from University of California San Diego, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Pretoria, Wellesley College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
