Eukaryotes have evolved genetic systems that are closed to exchanges among organisms of different species, but in the microbial world, mechanisms allow the transfer of genes easily, so that novelties created in one organism can find their way into many other taxa. Biological scientists explore the process and mechanism of horizontal gene transfer, their extent and limitation, and the consequences of the openness of microbial genetic systems for different evolutionary processes. Among their topics are gene survival in emergent genomes, the horizontal transfer of host-adaptability systems in bacteria, a model for the evolution of horizontally transferred genes in prokaryotes, what maintains plasmids among bacteria, and horizontal gene transfer and recombination in the evolution of antibiotic resistance genes. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation 2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
