[Methods for the identification of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events and progress in related fields].
Horizontal gene transfer is the gene exchange between different organisms or different organelles, which occurs frequently in prokaryotes. Many newly identified horizontal transfer events in eukaryotes indicates that it is a common phenomenon in all organisms. This paper describes the concept of horizontal gene transfer, the standard for judging a horizontal gene transfer events, the character, the mode, the way of horizontal gene transfer, and its impact on gene and genome evolution. The analyses of phylogenetic tree, base composition, selection pressure, intron sequence comparison, inserted special sequence, and biased nucleotide substitution are the most common methods used in previous researches. Evidence accumulated demonstrated that transposable sequences are most likely undergoing horizontal transferring. Transformation, conjugation, and transduction are the main forms of horizontal gene transfer in prokaryotes, but no clear clue was related with the mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in eukaryotes. Horizontal gene transfer plays a special role in genetic, genomic, and the biological evolution.
Li
Zhi-Jiang
ZJ
National Millet Improvement Center of China, Institute of Millet Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Shijiaz-huang 050031, China. lizhijiang12@163.com
Li
Hai-Quan
HQ
Diao
Xian-Min
XM
D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome; D018503:Genome, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells