Fine-scale diversity and extensive recombination in a quasisexual bacterial population occupying a broad niche
Rosen M, Davison M, Bhaya D, Fisher D. 2015. Fine-scale diversity and extensive recombination in a quasisexual bacterial population occupying a broad niche. Science. 348(6238):1019-1023
Extensive fine-scale genetic diversity is found in many microbial species across varied environments, but for most, the evolutionary scenarios that generate the observed variation remain unclear. Deep sequencing of a thermophilic cyanobacterial population and analysis of the statistics of synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms revealed a high rate of homologous recombination and departures from neutral drift consistent with the effects of genetic hitchhiking. A sequenced isolate genome resembled an unlinked random mixture of the allelic diversity at the sampled loci. These observations suggested a quasisexual microbial population that occupies a broad ecological niche, with selection driving frequencies of alleles rather than whole genomes.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Rosen, Michael; Davison, Michelle; Bhaya, Devaki; Fisher, Daniel
- Units
- GRYN , YELL
- Keywords
- allelic diversity, Cyanobacteria, genetic hitchiking, Microbes, recombination, thermophile
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Microorganisms