BMC Evolutionary Biology | |
Pathogen-origin horizontally transferred genes contribute to the evolution of Lepidopteran insects | |
关键词: Horizontal gene transfer; Insect evolution; Lepidoptera evolution; Functional innovation; Pathogenic bacteria; | |
DOI : 10.1186/1471-2148-11-356 | |
来源: DOAJ |
【 摘 要 】
Abstract
Background
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), a source of genetic variation, is generally considered to facilitate hosts' adaptability to environments. However, convincing evidence supporting the significant contribution of the transferred genes to the evolution of metazoan recipients is rare.
Results
In this study, based on sequence data accumulated to date, we used a unified method consisting of similarity search and phylogenetic analysis to detect horizontally transferred genes (HTGs) between prokaryotes and five insect species including
Conclusions
The products of HTGs detected in this study may take part in comprehensive physiological metabolism. These genes potentially contributed to functional innovation and adaptability of Lepidopteran hosts in their ancient lineages associated with the diversification of angiosperms. Importantly, our results imply that pathogens may be advantageous to the subsistence and prosperity of hosts through effective HGT events at a large evolutionary scale.
【 授权许可】
Unknown