Horizontal transmission and recombination maintain forever young bacterial symbiont genomes.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial symbionts bring a wealth of functions to the associations they participate in, but by doing so, they endanger the genes and genomes underlying these abilities. When bacterial symbionts become obligately associated with their hosts, their genomes are thought to decay towards an organelle-like fate due to decreased homologous recombination and inefficient selection. However, numerous associations exist that counter these expectations, especially in marine environments, possibly due to ongoing horizontal gene flow. Despite extensive theoretical treatment, no empirical study thus far has connected these underlying population genetic processes with long-term evolutionary outcomes. By sampling marine chemosynthetic bacterial-bivalve endosymbioses that range from primarily vertical to s

SUBMITTER: Russell SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7473567 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature