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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Ancient DNA and Forensic Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1449094

Recurrence and propagation of past functions through mineral facilitated horizontal gene transfer

Provisionally accepted
Taru Verma Taru Verma 1Saghar Hendiani Saghar Hendiani 1Carlota Carbajo Carlota Carbajo 1Sandra B. Andersen Sandra B. Andersen 2Emma U. Hammarlund Emma U. Hammarlund 3Mette Burmølle Mette Burmølle 4Karina K. Sand Karina K. Sand 1*
  • 1 GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark
  • 2 Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark
  • 3 Lund University, Lund, Skane County, Sweden
  • 4 University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Horizontal gene transfer is one of the most important drivers of bacterial evolution. Transformation by uptake of extracellular DNA is traditionally not considered to be an effective mode of gene acquisition, simply because extracellular DNA is degraded in a matter of days when it is suspended in e.g. seawater. Recently the age span of stored DNA was increased to at least 2 Ma. We highlight that ancient environmental DNA can be fueling the evolution of contemporary bacteria. We show that Acinetobacter baylyi can incorporate 60 bp DNA fragments adsorbed to common sedimentary minerals and that the transformation frequencies scale with mineral surface properties. In contrast to heritable stochastic mutations, the processes by which bacteria acquire new genomic material at times with increased stress and needs, indicate a non-random mechanism that may propel evolution in a non-stochastic manner

    Keywords: horizontal gene transfer, Bacteria, extracellular DNA, Minerals, evolution

    Received: 17 Jun 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Verma, Hendiani, Carbajo, Andersen, Hammarlund, Burmølle and Sand. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Karina K. Sand, GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1350, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

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