Overview
- Reviews both wetlab and in silico methods for assessing horizontal gene transfer
- Brings together the often controversial viewpoints on the impact of HGT on the tree of life and microbial speciation
- Provides an easily accessible reference volume for the current knowledge of the extent and impact of HGT
- Covers a wide range of HGT detection methods
- Covers everything from genome based analysis to integron biology and plasmid transfer in biofilms
- Comprehensive guide to HGT detection and the study of HGT
- Presents debates on how HGT effects speciation and concepts of microbial speciation
- Contains contributions by the leading scientists working in the field
Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology (MIMB, volume 532)
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Table of contents (30 protocols)
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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Front Matter
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Definitions, Philosophy, and Implications of HGT
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Front Matter
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Methods
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events encompass processes as varied as the exchange of genetic material between microbes coexisting in the same environment, between symbiotic bacteria and their eukaryotic hosts, and the evolution of organelles by symbiosis, in which whole genomes are acquired. In Horizontal Gene Transfer: Genomes in Flux, expert researchers contribute an overview of HGT concepts as well as specific case histories that highlight the most current progress to inspire future work. Divided into three sections, the volume begins with an overview of terminology, concepts and the implications of HGT on current evolutionary thought and philosophy, and continues with methods involving computer and bioinformatics analyses of genomic data as well as molecular biology techniques for identifying, quantifying, and differentiating instances of HGT. A section of case studies follows, which provides detailed accounts of how HGT has shaped evolution across the diversity of organisms and organismal lineages. As a volume of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series, this work provides the kind of detailed description and implementation advice that is crucial for getting optimal results.
Cutting-edge and thoroughly detailed, Horizontal Gene Transfer: Genomes in Flux examines how HGT has contributed to genome evolution and how understanding HGT impacts our ability to accurately reconstruct and comprehend the web-like evolutionary history in order to aid scientists in furthering their own research.
Reviews
From the reviews:
"The case studies … presented are so well illustrated and convincely debated that the reader is perceiving the impression that we (our genome, the genomes!!) are hosting HGT and surrounded by HGT which are occuring in each second of our life and all throughout the life around us. … I think the book should be suggested not only as a reference text for those involved in this field of research but also to students of the graduate and PhD courses … ." (CarloAlberto Redi, European Journal of Histochemistry, October, 2009)
"The major strength of this book lies in the fundamental concepts that are discussed, in depth, by the chapter’s authors. … this book is suitable for individuals interested in the consequences of HGT … . This book will appeal to graduate students and researchers in molecular biology, bioinformatics and evolutionary biology. An institutional copy is a must, and it would also make an excellent addition to the personal collections of principle investigators/laboratories in the field." (Adam Roberts, Microbiology Today, November, 2009)
Editors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Horizontal Gene Transfer
Book Subtitle: Genomes in Flux
Editors: Maria Boekels Gogarten, Johann Peter Gogarten, Lorraine C. Olendzenski
Series Title: Methods in Molecular Biology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-853-9
Publisher: Humana Totowa, NJ
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols
Copyright Information: Humana Press 2009
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60327-852-2Published: 11 March 2009
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-61737-918-5Published: 19 November 2010
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60327-853-9Published: 07 March 2009
Series ISSN: 1064-3745
Series E-ISSN: 1940-6029
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 552
Topics: Microbiology, Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Evolutionary Biology