Population Genomics of Early Events in the Ecological Differentiation of Bacteria
Name
Alm_Population genomics.pdf
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498.99 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Shapiro, B. J.
Friedman, J.
Cordero Sanchez, Otto Xavier
Preheim, Sarah Pacocha
Timberlake, Sonia Crago
Szabo, Gitta
Polz, Martin F.
Alm, Eric J.
Date Issued
April 2012
Journal
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Shapiro, B. J., et al. "Population Genomics of Early Events in the Ecological Differentiation of Bacteria." Science 6 April 2012: Vol. 336 no. 6077 pp. 48-51.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Genetic exchange is common among bacteria, but its effect on population diversity during ecological differentiation remains controversial. A fundamental question is whether advantageous mutations lead to selection of clonal genomes or, as in sexual eukaryotes, sweep through populations on their own. Here, we show that in two recently diverged populations of ocean bacteria, ecological differentiation has occurred akin to a sexual mechanism: A few genome regions have swept through subpopulations in a habitat-specific manner, accompanied by gradual separation of gene pools as evidenced by increased habitat specificity of the most recent recombinations. These findings reconcile previous, seemingly contradictory empirical observations of the genetic structure of bacterial populations and point to a more unified process of differentiation in bacteria and sexual eukaryotes than previously thought.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1218198
