Causes and Consequences of Bacteriophage Diversification via Genetic Exchanges across Lifestyles and Bacterial Taxa.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophages (phages) evolve rapidly by acquiring genes from other phages. This results in mosaic genomes. Here, we identify numerous genetic transfers between distantly related phages and aim at understanding their frequency, consequences, and the conditions favoring them. Gene flow tends to occur between phages that are enriched for recombinases, transposases, and nonhomologous end joining, suggesting that both homologous and illegitimate recombination contribute to gene flow. Phage family and host phyla are strong barriers to gene exchange, but phage lifestyle is not. Even if we observe four times more recent transfers between temperate phages than between other pairs, there is extensive gene flow between temperate and virulent phages, and between the latter. These predominantly invol

SUBMITTER: Moura de Sousa JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8136500 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature