Microbial horizontal gene transfer and the DNA release from transgenic crop plants

Intraspecific and interspecific horizontal gene transfers among prokaryotes by mechanisms like conjugation, transduction and transformation are part of their life style. Experimental data and nucleotide sequence analyses show that these processes appear to occur in any prokaryotic habitat and have s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2005-01, Vol.266 (1-2), p.91-104
Main Authors: de Vries, Johann, Wackernagel, Wilfried
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
biomonitoring
Conjugation
Crops
Data processing
Dispersal
DNA
Evolution
Gene transfer
Genomes
Habitat
Integration
Microorganisms
Nucleotide sequence
Plant cells
Pollen
Prokaryotes
Recombination
Reviews
Soil
Styles
Transformation
Transgenic plants
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Summary:Intraspecific and interspecific horizontal gene transfers among prokaryotes by mechanisms like conjugation, transduction and transformation are part of their life style. Experimental data and nucleotide sequence analyses show that these processes appear to occur in any prokaryotic habitat and have shaped microbial genomes throughout evolution over hundreds of million years. Here we summarize studies with a focus on the possibility of the transfer of free recombinant DNA released from transgenic plants to microorganisms by transformation. A list of 87 species capable of natural transformation is presented. We discuss monitoring techniques which allowed detection of the spread of intact DNA from plants during their growth, in the process of decay and by pollen dispersal including novel biomonitoring assays for measuring the transforming potential of DNA in the environment. Also, studies on the persistence of free DNA in soil habitats and the potential of bacteria to take up DNA in soil are summarized. On the other hand, the various barriers evolved in prokaryotes which suppress interspecific gene transfer and recombination will be addressed along with studies aiming to estimate the chance of a gene transfer from plant to microbe. The results suggest that, although such transfers could be possible in principle, each of the many steps involved from the release of intact DNA from a plant cell to integration into a prokaryotic genome has such a low probability that a successful transfer event be extremely rare. Further, interspecies transfer of chromosomal DNA is mostly negative for the recipient, and, if not, in the absence of a selective advantage the transformant will be lost. It is stressed that the nucleotide sequences introduced into transgenic plants are much less likely to be captured from the transgenic plants than directly from those organisms (often bacteria or viruses) from which they were originally derived.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-005-4783-x