Journal article
Beyond the pan-genome: current perspectives on the functional and practical outcomes of the distributed genome hypothesis
Biochemical Society transactions, Vol.48(6), pp.2437-2455
18 Dec 2020
PMID: 33245329
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The principle of monoclonality with regard to bacterial infections was considered immutable prior to 30 years ago. This view, espoused by Koch for acute infections, has proven inadequate regarding chronic infections as persistence requires multiple forms of heterogeneity among the bacterial population. This understanding of bacterial plurality emerged from a synthesis of what-were-then novel technologies in molecular biology and imaging science. These technologies demonstrated that bacteria have complex life cycles, polymicrobial ecologies, and evolve in situ via the horizontal exchange of genic characters. Thus, there is an ongoing generation of diversity during infection that results in far more highly complex microbial communities than previously envisioned. This perspective is based on the fundamental tenet that the bacteria within an infecting population display genotypic diversity, including gene possession differences, which result from horizontal gene transfer mechanisms including transformation, conjugation, and transduction. This understanding is embodied in the concepts of the supragenome/pan-genome and the distributed genome hypothesis (DGH). These paradigms have fostered multiple researches in diverse areas of bacterial ecology including host-bacterial interactions covering the gamut of symbiotic relationships including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. With regard to the human host, within each of these symbiotic relationships all bacterial species possess attributes that contribute to colonization and persistence; those species/strains that are pathogenic also encode traits for invasion and metastases. Herein we provide an update on our understanding of bacterial plurality and discuss potential applications in diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccinology based on perspectives provided by the DGH with regard to the evolution of pathogenicity.
Metrics
3 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Beyond the pan-genome: current perspectives on the functional and practical outcomes of the distributed genome hypothesis
- Creators
- Jocelyn A Hammond - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.AEmma A Gordon - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.AKayla M Socarras - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.AJoshua Chang Mell - Meta-omics Shared Resource Facility, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.AGarth D Ehrlich - Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A
- Publication Details
- Biochemical Society transactions, Vol.48(6), pp.2437-2455
- Publisher
- England
- Grant note
- U01 DK082316 / NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DC002148 / NIDCD NIH HHS
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Identifiers
- 991014969762904721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology