Environment-dependent fitness gains can be driven by horizontal gene transfer of transporter-encoding genes.

ABSTRACT: Many microbes acquire metabolites in a "feeding" process where complex polymers are broken down in the environment to their subunits. The subsequent uptake of soluble metabolites by a cell, sometimes called osmotrophy, is facilitated by transporter proteins. As such, the diversification of osmotrophic microorganisms is closely tied to the diversification of transporter functions. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been suggested to produce genetic variation that can lead to adaptation, allowing lineages to acquire traits and expand niche ranges. Transporter genes often encode single-gene phenotypes and tend to have low protein-protein interaction complexity and, as such, are potential candidates for HGT. Here we test the idea that HGT has underpinned the expansion of metabolic potential an

SUBMITTER: Milner DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6431176 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature