Minimal transcriptional regulation of horizontally transferred photosynthesis genes in phototrophic bacterium Gemmatimonas phototrophica .

lacks the regulation of photosynthesis gene expressions in response to oxygen concentration and light intensity that are common in purple bacteria. This restricts its growth to low-light habitats with reduced oxygen. Understanding the regulation of horizontally transferred genes is important not only for microbial evolution but also for synthetic biology and the engineering of novel organisms, as these rely on the successful integration of foreign genes.