Potential impacts of horizontal gene transfer on human health and physiology and how anthropogenic activity can affect it

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is widespread among prokaryotes driving their evolution. In this paper, we review the potential impact in humans of the HGT between prokaryotes living in close association with humans in two scenarios: horizontal transfer in human microbiomes and transfer between microbes living in human managed environments. Although our vision is focused on the possible impact of these transfers in the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes or pathogenicity determinants, we also discuss possible human physiological adaptations via gene transfer between resident and occasional bacteria in the human microbiome.

Keywords: horizontal gene transfer; human managed environments; human microbiome; nutritional adaptations; pathogenicity determinants; resistome; somatic gene transfer.