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Population Genomics and the Bacterial Species Concept

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Horizontal Gene Transfer

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 532))

Abstract

In recent years, the importance of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bacterial evolution has been elevated to such a degree that many bacteriologists now question the very existence of bacterial species. If gene transfer is as rampant as comparative genomic studies have suggested, how could bacterial species survive such genomic fluidity? And yet, most bacteriologists recognize, and name, as species, clusters of bacterial isolates that share complex phenotypic properties. The Core Genome Hypothesis (CGH) has been proposed to explain this apparent paradox of fluid bacterial genomes associated with stable phenotypic clusters. It posits that there is a core of genes responsible for maintaining the species-specific phenotypic clusters observed throughout bacterial diversity and argues that, even in the face of substantial genomic fluidity, bacterial species can be rationally identified and named.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Margaret A. Riley & Michelle Lizotte-Waniewski

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  1. Margaret A. Riley
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  2. Michelle Lizotte-Waniewski
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut, 968 Warrenville Road, Mansfield Center, CT 06250, USA

    Maria Boekels Gogarten

  2. Dept. Molecular & Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 North Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT 06269-3125, USA

    Johann Peter Gogarten

  3. Biology Department, St. Lawrence University, 23 Romoda Drive, Canton, NY 13617, USA

    Lorraine C. Olendzenski

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© 2009 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Riley, M.A., Lizotte-Waniewski, M. (2009). Population Genomics and the Bacterial Species Concept. In: Gogarten, M.B., Gogarten, J.P., Olendzenski, L.C. (eds) Horizontal Gene Transfer. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 532. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-853-9_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-853-9_21

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-852-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-853-9

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