Bacterial evolution: dynamic genomes and the power of transformation.
Virulence and avirulence genes carried on large, unstable pathogenicity islands (PAI) strongly influence the course and fate of host-pathogen interactions. A recent study shows how one such PAI can be rapidly transferred between two closely related bacteria via transformation in vivo, and how this horizontal gene transfer affects the fitness of the recipient strain.
Guttman
David S
DS
Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S3B2, Canada. david.guttman@utoronto.ca
D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D027805:Phaseolus / Q000382:microbiology; D044224:Pseudomonas syringae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial; D037521:Virulence Factors
D037521:Virulence Factors