TY - JOUR
T1 - Why do bacteria engage in homologous recombination?
AU - Vos, M.
N1 - Reporting year: 2009
Metis note: 4584;CTE; TME ; ME; file:///L:/Endnotedatabases/NIOOPUB/pdfs/PDFS2009\Vos_ea_4584.pdf
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Microbiologists have long recognized that the uptake and incorporation of homologous DNA from outside the cell is a common feature of bacteria, with important implications for their evolution. However, the exact reasons why bacteria engage in homologous recombination remain elusive. This Opinion article aims to reinvigorate the debate by examining the costs and benefits that homologous recombination could engender in natural populations of bacteria. It specifically focuses on the hypothesis that homologous recombination is selectively maintained because the genetic variation it generates improves the response of bacterial populations to natural selection, analogous to sex in eukaryotes.
AB - Microbiologists have long recognized that the uptake and incorporation of homologous DNA from outside the cell is a common feature of bacteria, with important implications for their evolution. However, the exact reasons why bacteria engage in homologous recombination remain elusive. This Opinion article aims to reinvigorate the debate by examining the costs and benefits that homologous recombination could engender in natural populations of bacteria. It specifically focuses on the hypothesis that homologous recombination is selectively maintained because the genetic variation it generates improves the response of bacterial populations to natural selection, analogous to sex in eukaryotes.
U2 - 10.1016/j.tim.2009.03.001
DO - 10.1016/j.tim.2009.03.001
M3 - Article
VL - 17
SP - 226
EP - 232
JO - Trends in Microbiology
JF - Trends in Microbiology
SN - 0966-842X
IS - 6
ER -