Ochman H, Lawrence J G, Groisman E A
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721-0088, USA.
Nature. 2000 May 18;405(6784):299-304. doi: 10.1038/35012500.
Unlike eukaryotes, which evolve principally through the modification of existing genetic information, bacteria have obtained a significant proportion of their genetic diversity through the acquisition of sequences from distantly related organisms. Horizontal gene transfer produces extremely dynamic genomes in which substantial amounts of DNA are introduced into and deleted from the chromosome. These lateral transfers have effectively changed the ecological and pathogenic character of bacterial species.
与主要通过对现有遗传信息进行修饰来进化的真核生物不同，细菌通过从远缘生物体获取序列获得了相当大比例的遗传多样性。水平基因转移产生了极其动态的基因组，其中大量的DNA被引入染色体或从染色体中删除。这些横向转移有效地改变了细菌物种的生态和致病特性。
