Hall, James P. J., Williams, David, Paterson, Steve, Harrison, Ellie and Brockhurst, Michael A. (2018) Data from: Positive selection inhibits gene mobilization and transfer in soil bacterial communities. [Data Collection]
Description
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between bacterial lineages is a fundamental evolutionary process that accelerates adaptation. Sequence analyses show that conjugative plasmids are principal agents of HGT in natural communities. However, we lack understanding of how the ecology of bacterial communities and their environments affect the dynamics of plasmid-mediated gene mobilization and transfer. Here we show, in simple experimental soil bacterial communities containing a conjugative mercury resistance plasmid, the repeated, independent mobilization of transposon-borne genes from chromosome to plasmid, plasmid to chromosome and, in the absence of mercury selection, interspecific gene transfers from the chromosome of one species to the other via the plasmid. By reducing conjugation, positive selection for plasmid-encoded traits, like mercury resistance, can consequently inhibit HGT. Our results suggest that interspecific plasmid-mediated gene mobilization is most likely to occur in environments where plasmids are infectious, parasitic elements rather than those where plasmids are positively selected, beneficial elements.
| Keywords: | Dryad,Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25,Pseudomonas putida KT2440, |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Data Catalogue Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Nov 2022 16:43 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Nov 2022 16:43 |
| DOI: | 10.5061/dryad.6gf28 |
| Original Record Link: | https://datadryad.org/stash/share/cW3nkvM2NV_KspeUQU0cDr3bdP445_v4LB4WJNpilVA |
| URI: | https://datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/1928 |
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