Convergence of Campylobacter Species: Implications for Bacterial Evolution
Top Cited Papers
- 11 April 2008
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 320 (5873) , 237-239
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155532
Abstract
The nature of species boundaries in bacteria remains controversial. In particular, the mechanisms of bacterial speciation and maintenance in the face of frequent genetic exchange are poorly understood. Here, we report patterns of genetic exchange that show two closely related zoonotic pathogenic species, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, are converging as a consequence of recent changes in gene flow. Population expansion into a novel ecological niche generated by human activity is the most probable explanation for the increase in genetic exchange between these species. Bacterial speciation can therefore occur by mechanisms analogous to those seen in metazoans, where genetic diversification and incipient speciation caused by ecological factors have been reported in several genera.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Inference of Bacterial Microevolution Using Multilocus Sequence DataGenetics, 2007
- Host-associated Genetic Import inCampylobacter jejuniEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2007
- Recombination and the Nature of Bacterial SpeciationScience, 2007
- Evolutionary History of Salmonella TyphiScience, 2006
- Mismatch induced speciation inSalmonella: model and dataPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2006
- Modelling bacterial speciationPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2006
- Sources of Campylobacter spp. Colonizing Housed Broiler Flocks during RearingApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2006
- Re-evaluating prokaryotic speciesNature Reviews Microbiology, 2005
- Epidemiology of SporadicCampylobacterInfection in the United States and Declining Trend in Incidence, FoodNet 1996–1999Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2004
- Major Ecological Transitions in Wild Sunflowers Facilitated by HybridizationScience, 2003