Taking the Gonococcus-Human Relationship to a Whole New Level: Implications for the Coevolution of Microbes and Humans

While horizontal gene transfer occurs frequently among bacterial species, evidence for the transfer of DNA from host to microbe is exceptionally rare. However, the recent report by Anderson and Seifert [mBio 2(1):e00005-11, 2011] provides evidence for such an event with the finding that 11% of Neiss...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Shafer, William M., Ohneck, Elizabeth A.
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society of Microbiology 2011
Materias:
Commentary
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3087451/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21521723
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00067-11
Descripción
Sumario:While horizontal gene transfer occurs frequently among bacterial species, evidence for the transfer of DNA from host to microbe is exceptionally rare. However, the recent report by Anderson and Seifert [mBio 2(1):e00005-11, 2011] provides evidence for such an event with the finding that 11% of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains harbor a 685-bp sequence that is 98 to 100% identical to the human long interspersed nuclear element L1. While the function of this element in gonococci remains unclear, this finding significantly impacts our consideration of the coevolution of hosts and microbes, particularly that of humans and pathogens.

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