Bacteria Can Exchange Genes on a Global Scale

According to a new study, bacteria have the ability to exchange genes with one another on a global level. Bacteria normally transfer genes with each other via horizontal gene transfer, in switch they select for advantageous genes over deleterious ones. However, researchers have recently identified a seemingly global gene network incorporating over 10,000 genes across 2,235 bacterial genomes. What is fascinating about this, is that the vastly different bacteria seem to be exchanging genes without regard to social or geographic borders. The genetic distance these bacterium strains has been compared to the genetic distance between humans and yeast, yet they are evidenced to exhibit identical genes. All these different strains of bacteria seem to be “access the same pool of genetic variants.” This discovery had lead researchers to believe that ecology plays a much larger role in bacterial genetics than lineage or geography.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-11/bacteria-swap-gene-information-through-global-network (Article Link)