细菌水平基因转移所面临的现实与挑战

Facts and Challenges of Bacterial Horizontal Gene Transfer in Evolution

水平基因转移对细菌遗传物质进化的影响是存在争议的.本文着重从水平基因转移的进化思想和水平基因转移在进化方面的重要性,特别是在原核细胞进化方面作一综述.首先,阐述水平基因转移在细菌物种进化中的进程;其次,阐述水平基因在不同的进化阶段的范围或广度,此外,讨论重建(或改造)旧的系统发育树关系在面临水平基因转移的可行性;最后,讨论水平基因转移是如何适应新的达尔文进化论学说的,而且需要一种新的进化论去诠释细菌物种的进化机制,水平基因转移就是其中一个很重要的原因.

The contribution of horizontal gene transfer to evolution of bacterial genetic material has been controversial.In this paper,I review the current standpoint on horizontal gene transfer in evolutionary thinking and discuss how important horizontal gene transfer is in evolution in the broad sense,and particularly in prokaryotic evolution.Frstly,I review which processes are involved in the evolutionary success of transferred genes and,secondly,about the extent of horizontal gene transfer towards different evolutionary times.Moreover,I discuss the feasibility of reconstructing ancient phylogenetic relationships in the face of horizontal gene transfer.Finally,I discuss how horizontal gene transfer fi ts in the current neo-Darwinian evolutionary paradigm and conclude there is a need for a new evolutionary paradigm that includes horizontal gene transfer as well as other mechanisms in the explanation of evolution.