Lateral Gene Transfer in a Heavy Metal-Contaminated-Groundwater Microbial Community.
Christopher L HemmeStefan J GreenLavanya RishishwarOm PrakashAngelica PettenatoRomy ChakrabortyAdam M DeutschbauerJoy D Van NostrandLiyou WuZhili HeI King JordanTerry C HazenAdam P ArkinJoel E KostkaJizhong ZhouPublished in: mBio (2016)
Lateral gene transfer (LGT), along with positive selection and gene duplication, are the three main mechanisms that drive adaptive evolution of microbial genomes and communities, but their relative importance is unclear. Some recent studies suggested that LGT is a major adaptive mechanism for microbial populations in response to changing environments, and hence, it could also be critical in shaping microbial community structure. However, direct evidence of LGT and its rates in extant natural microbial communities in response to changing environments is still lacking. Our results presented in this study provide explicit evidence that LGT played a crucial role in driving the evolution of a groundwater microbial community in response to extreme heavy metal contamination. It appears that acquisition of genes critical for survival, growth, and reproduction via LGT is the most rapid and effective way to enable microorganisms and associated microbial communities to quickly adapt to abrupt harsh environmental stresses.
Keyphrases
- microbial community
- heavy metals
- health risk
- risk assessment
- health risk assessment
- genome wide
- genome wide identification
- drinking water
- antibiotic resistance genes
- human health
- copy number
- sewage sludge
- minimally invasive
- genome wide analysis
- dna methylation
- transcription factor
- electron transfer
- case control
- genetic diversity