Analysis of horizontal gene transfer in river sediment
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer is a spontaneous, natural process. It is primarily common among Bacteria and Archea, but has also been found among more developed organisms. Serious hazards may occur when artificial genes spread laterally from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in natural habitats, with the ability to ruin even eukaryotic gene-pools. However, the very same process, horizontal transfer of catabolic genes, or even that of complete operons may be put into practice for bioremediation, a method yet waiting to be developed. In our work horizontal transfer of tetracycline resistance gene was investigated in river sediment microcosm, which is a medium that has not been researched regarding this question until now. Horizontal gene transfer is reported in the Danube sediment in this work. It has been found that the presence of the donor organism in high numbers is inevitable for the process. The results derived here will be used later in research about transfer of catabolic genes that may be responsible for decomposing xenobiotics.
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