Gene-specific selective sweeps in bacteria and archaea caused by negative frequency-dependent selection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Fixation of beneficial genes in bacteria and archaea (collectively, prokaryotes) is often believed to erase pre-existing genomic diversity through the hitchhiking effect, a phenomenon known as genome-wide selective sweep. Recent studies, however, indicate that beneficial genes spread through a prokaryotic population via recombination without causing genome-wide selective sweeps. These gene-specific selective sweeps seem to be at odds with the existing estimates of recombination rates in prokaryotes, which appear far too low to explain such phenomena.

Results

We use mathematical modeling to investigate potential solutions to this apparent paradox. Most microbes in nature evolve in heterogeneous, dynamic communities, in which ecological interactions can substantiall

SUBMITTER: Takeuchi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4410459 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature