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      The impact of horizontal gene transfer on the adaptive ability of the human oral microbiome

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          Abstract

          The oral microbiome is composed of a multitude of different species of bacteria, each capable of occupying one or more of the many different niches found within the human oral cavity. This community exhibits many types of complex interactions which enable it to colonize and rapidly respond to changes in the environment in which they live. One of these interactions is the transfer, or acquisition, of DNA within this environment, either from co-resident bacterial species or from exogenous sources. Horizontal gene transfer in the oral cavity gives some of the resident bacteria the opportunity to sample a truly enormous metagenome affording them considerable adaptive potential which may be key to survival in such a varying environment. In this review the underlying mechanisms of HGT are discussed in relation to the oral microbiome with numerous examples described where the direct acquisition of exogenous DNA has contributed to the fitness of the bacterial host within the human oral cavity.

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          Most cited references73

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          Bacterial interactions and successions during plaque development.

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            Antibiotic stress induces genetic transformability in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.

            Natural transformation is a widespread mechanism for genetic exchange in bacteria. Aminoglycoside and fluoroquinolone antibiotics, as well as mitomycin C, a DNA-damaging agent, induced transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae. This induction required an intact competence regulatory cascade. Furthermore, mitomycin C induction of recA was strictly dependent on the development of competence. In response to antibiotic stress, S. pneumoniae, which lacks an SOS-like system, exhibited genetic transformation. The design of antibiotherapy should take into consideration this potential of a major human pathogen to increase its rate of genetic exchange in response to antibiotics.
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              Induction of competence regulons as a general response to stress in gram-positive bacteria.

              Bacterial transformation, a programmed mechanism for genetic exchange originally discovered in Streptococcus pneumoniae, is widespread in bacteria. It is based on the uptake and integration of exogenous DNA into the recipient genome. This review examines whether induction of competence for genetic transformation is a general response to stress in gram-positive bacteria. It compares data obtained with bacteria chosen for their different lifestyles, the soil-dweller Bacillus subtilis and the major human pathogen S. pneumoniae. The review focuses on the relationship between competence and other global responses in B. subtilis, as well as on recent evidence for competence induction in response to DNA damage or antibiotics and for the ability of S. pneumoniae to use competence as a substitute for SOS. This comparison reveals that the two species use different fitness-enhancing strategies in response to stress conditions. Whereas B. subtilis combines competence and SOS induction, S. pneumoniae relies only on competence to generate genetic diversity through transformation.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Cell Infect Microbiol
                Front Cell Infect Microbiol
                Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
                Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                2235-2988
                08 September 2014
                2014
                : 4
                : 124
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Department of Microbial Diseases, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London London, UK
                [2] 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Oklahoma City, OK, USA
                Author notes

                Edited by: Alex Mira, Center for Advanced Research in Public Health, Spain

                Reviewed by: Nick Stephen Jakubovics, Newcastle University, UK; Valerio Iebba, 'Sapienza' University of Rome, Italy

                *Correspondence: Adam P. Roberts, Department of Microbial Diseases, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, UK e-mail: adam.roberts@ 123456ucl.ac.uk

                This article was submitted to the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

                Article
                10.3389/fcimb.2014.00124
                4157583
                25250243
                5cd6b167-f5c2-4a6a-99d1-3bcead320acd
                Copyright © 2014 Roberts and Kreth.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 11 June 2014
                : 19 August 2014
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 91, Pages: 9, Words: 8791
                Categories
                Microbiology
                Review Article

                Infectious disease & Microbiology
                horizontal gene transfer,mobile genetic elements,conjugation,transformation,hydrogen peroxide,extracellular dna,oral cavity,biofilm

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