Recurrence and propagation of past functions through mineral facilitated horizontal gene transfer

Taru Verma; Saghar Hendiani; Carlota Carbajo; Sandra B Andersen; Emma U Hammarlund; Mette Burmølle; Karina K Sand

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1449094

Recurrence and propagation of past functions through mineral facilitated horizontal gene transfer

Front Microbiol. 2024 Nov 7:15:1449094. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1449094. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Taru Verma¹, Saghar Hendiani¹, Carlota Carbajo¹, Sandra B Andersen², Emma U Hammarlund³, Mette Burmølle⁴, Karina K Sand¹

Affiliations

¹ Section of Geogenetics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade, Denmark.
² Section for Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade, Denmark.
³ Section of Cell and Tissue Biology Cancer Research, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Sölvegatan, Sweden.
⁴ Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken, Denmark.

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer is one of the most important drivers of bacterial evolution. Transformation by uptake of extracellular DNA is traditionally not considered to be an effective mode of gene acquisition, simply because extracellular DNA is degraded in a matter of days when it is suspended in e.g. seawater. Recently the age span of stored DNA was increased to at least 2 Ma. Here, we show that Acinetobacter baylyi can incorporate 60 bp DNA fragments adsorbed to common sedimentary minerals and that the transformation frequencies scale with mineral surface properties. Our work highlights that ancient environmental DNA can fuel the evolution of contemporary bacteria. In contrast to heritable stochastic mutations, the processes by which bacteria acquire new genomic material during times of increased stress and needs, indicate a non-random mechanism that may propel evolution in a non-stochastic manner.

Keywords: bacteria; evolution; extracellular DNA; horizontal gene transfer; minerals.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by a research grant from VILLUM FONDEN grant 00025352.