{"679803":{"#nid":"679803","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Secret \u2018Sex Lives\u2019 of Bacteria: New Research Challenges Old Ideas About How Species Form","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/kostas-konstantinidis\u0022\u003EKostas Konstantinidis\u003C\/a\u003E proved that many microbes \u2014 like plants and animals \u2014 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/whos-who-bacteria-reliable-way-define-species-and-strains\u0022\u003Eare organized into species\u003C\/a\u003E, he upended a long-held scientific belief. Scientists widely believed that bacteria, due to their unique genetic exchange mechanisms and the vast size of their global populations, did not \u2014 and could not \u2014 form distinct species.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew research from Konstantinidis and collaborators further challenges this notion, suggesting that not only do bacteria form species, but they also maintain cohesive species through a process that is somewhat \u201csexual.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe next question for us was how individual microbes in the same species maintain their cohesiveness. In other words, how do bacteria stay similar?\u201d said Konstantinidis, the Richard C. Tucker Professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBacterial and other microbes are thought to evolve primarily through binary fission, meaning asexual reproduction, while also engaging in infrequent genetic exchange. Using a novel bioinformatic method for detecting gene transfer, along with a new trove of whole genome data, Konstantinidis and an international team of researchers tested their hypothesis for how species emerge and are maintained. They found that bacteria \u003Ca\u003Eevolve\u003C\/a\u003E and form species more \u201csexually\u201d than previously thought.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir research was \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-024-53787-0\u0022\u003Epublished\u003C\/a\u003E in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo investigate how microbial species maintain their distinct identities, the team analyzed the complete genomes of microbes from two natural populations. They collected and sequenced over 100 strains of \u003Cem\u003ESalinibacter ruber\u003C\/em\u003E (a salt-loving microbe) from solar salterns in Spain. Then they analyzed a set of previously published \u003Cem\u003EEscherichia coli\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Egenomes isolated from livestock farms in the U.K. They compared the genomes of closely related microbes to see how genes were being exchanged.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey found that a process called \u201chomologous recombination\u201d plays a major role in keeping microbial species together. Homologous recombination occurs when microbes exchange DNA with each other and integrate the new DNA into their genome by replacing their own similar DNA. They observed that recombination occurs frequently and randomly across the entire genome of microbes, and not just in a few specific regions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis may be fundamentally different from sexual reproduction in animals, plants, fungi, and non-bacterial organisms, where DNA is exchanged during meiosis, but the outcome in terms of species cohesion may be similar,\u201d Konstantinidis said. \u201cThis constant exchange of genetic material acts as a cohesive force, keeping members of the same species similar.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also observed that members of the same species are more likely to exchange DNA with one another than with members of different species, further contributing to distinct species boundaries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis work addresses a major, long-lasting problem for microbiology that is relevant for many research areas,\u201d Konstantinidis said. \u201cThat is, how to define species and the underlying mechanisms for species cohesion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis research has implications for several fields, from environmental science and evolution to medicine and public health, and offers valuable insights for identifying, modeling, and regulating clinically or environmentally important organisms. The methodology developed during the research also provides a molecular toolkit for future epidemiological and micro-diversity studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENote\u003C\/strong\u003E: The research was made possible by contributions from the groups of Ramon Rossello-Mora at IMEDEA in Majorca, Spain, and Rudolf Amann at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, who obtained data from the natural microbial populations and equally contributed to the data analysis and interpretations.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECitation\u003C\/strong\u003E: Conrad, R.E., Brink, C.E., Viver, T.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eet al.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;Microbial species and intraspecies units exist and are maintained by ecological cohesiveness coupled to high homologous recombination.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENat Commun\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E15\u003C\/strong\u003E, 9906 (2024).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDOI\u003C\/strong\u003E: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-024-53787-0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFunding\u003C\/strong\u003E: U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. National Science Foundation, European Regional Development Fund\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe study reveals that bacteria form distinct species and maintain cohesion through frequent DNA exchange via homologous recombination.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The study reveals that bacteria form distinct species and maintain cohesion through frequent DNA exchange via homologous recombination."}],"uid":"36123","created_gmt":"2025-01-22 18:02:13","changed_gmt":"2025-01-22 20:38:16","author":"Catherine Barzler","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676088":{"id":"676088","type":"image","title":"salinibacter ruber.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESalinibacter ruber\u003C\/em\u003E cells (green) under the microscope. Other colors represent different organisms in the saltern. (Credit: Tomeu Viver)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1737568938","gmt_created":"2025-01-22 18:02:18","changed":"1737568938","gmt_changed":"2025-01-22 18:02:18","alt":"Microscope image of Salinibacter ruber","file":{"fid":"259803","name":"ALL_FISH_1.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/22\/ALL_FISH_1.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/22\/ALL_FISH_1.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":358535,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/01\/22\/ALL_FISH_1.jpeg?itok=VYMjPPlb"}},"676089":{"id":"676089","type":"image","title":"Salinibacter_team_group_photo_Nov-14-2024.jpeg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA screenshot from a research meeting. The study\u0027s international team has researchers based in the U.S., Spain, Germany, Austria, and South Africa. (Credit: Kostas Konstantinidis)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1737569233","gmt_created":"2025-01-22 18:07:13","changed":"1737569233","gmt_changed":"2025-01-22 18:07:13","alt":"A screenshot of 13 people in a video conference meeting","file":{"fid":"259804","name":"Salinibacter_team_group_photo_Nov-14-2024.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/22\/Salinibacter_team_group_photo_Nov-14-2024.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/22\/Salinibacter_team_group_photo_Nov-14-2024.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":191000,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/01\/22\/Salinibacter_team_group_photo_Nov-14-2024.jpeg?itok=cmHYbHtH"}}},"media_ids":["676088","676089"],"related_links":[{"url":"entity:node\/673300","title":"The Who\u0027s Who of Bacteria: A Reliable Way to Define Species and Strains"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECatherine Barzler, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:catherine.barzler@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ecatherine.barzler@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["catherine.barzler@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}