Question

Question: Horizontal Gene Transfer is important for prokaryotes. What would happen if there was no HGT: In the human gut?

Answer 1

Horizontal gene transfer in the gastrointestinal tract is of particular importance since antibiotic resistance genes can be acquired through transient bacteria or generated through mutations or rearrangements in a variety of elements in this environment. The intestinal microflora is a potential source of antibiotic resistant pathogen. These pathogens can cause infections via the fecal–oral route or through nosocomial infections such as bacteremia, endocarditis, urinary tract infections, and contamination of surgical sites.

The human gastrointestinal tract is a reservoir of enormous species diversity and density as well as a reservoir for hundreds to thousands of known antibiotic resistance genes with the mechanisms in place to horizontally transfer any gene. The capability of emergence of resistant pathogens from this habitat is astounding. The cure for the crisis of antibiotic resistance will not be as simple as encouraging and implementing the judicious use of antibiotics in agriculture and medicine, since resistant strains are very well adapted to growth. It is still unknown how long it will take and if ever resistance gene determinants will be lost from the populations of trillions of bacterial cells that reside in human gastrointestinal tracts worldwide. If HGT will absent in human gut then antibiotic resistance gene is abesent in bacteria.