TY - JOUR AU - Sitaraman, Ramakrishnan PY - 2018 DA - 2018/09/17 TI - Prokaryotic horizontal gene transfer within the human holobiont: ecological-evolutionary inferences, implications and possibilities JO - Microbiome SP - 163 VL - 6 IS - 1 AB - The ubiquity of horizontal gene transfer in the living world, especially among prokaryotes, raises interesting and important scientific questions regarding its effects on the human holobiont i.e., the human and its resident bacterial communities considered together as a unit of selection. Specifically, it would be interesting to determine how particular gene transfer events have influenced holobiont phenotypes in particular ecological niches and, conversely, how specific holobiont phenotypes have influenced gene transfer events. In this synthetic review, we list some notable and recent discoveries of horizontal gene transfer among the prokaryotic component of the human microbiota, and analyze their potential impact on the holobiont from an ecological-evolutionary viewpoint. Finally, the human-Helicobacter pylori association is presented as an illustration of these considerations, followed by a delineation of unresolved questions and avenues for future research. SN - 2049-2618 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0551-z DO - 10.1186/s40168-018-0551-z ID - Sitaraman2018 ER -