Computational Molecular Biology 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 299-306 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/cmb 303 Figure 2 Performance comparison between χ2 and Chernoff approach for SI-based HGT detection under simulated data (Adopted from Sevillya et al., 2020) 6 Implications of HGT in Soil Health and Microbial Ecology 6.1 Spread of antibiotic resistance and environmental resilience through HGT In soil environments, antibiotic resistance is often not something that a certain bacterial community "evolves on its own", but rather rapidly flows among bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. Many drug resistance genes are hidden on mobile genetic elements. Once they spread, they will give more originally sensitive fungi a survival advantage. Such changes sometimes enhance the stability of the entire community in the face of antibiotics or pollutants, but they may also cause certain gene donor groups to lose some of their original ecological competitiveness. Despite this, HGT is still regarded as an important way for soil bacteria to cope with natural and anthropogenic pressures, enabling the microbial community to maintain a certain degree of adaptability in a changing environment. 6.2 Influence on microbial community structure and ecosystem functionality At the community level, the impact brought by HGT is often broader than expected. Many genes related to degradation, resistance or tolerance move within the community, making some bacteria more potent and competitive in specific ecological niches such as the rhizosphere. The flow of genes makes it easier for microorganisms to enter new environments and adapt to different resource conditions, and also causes changes in the composition of the community. Nutrient cycling, soil fertility and plant health will all be affected in a chain reaction by these changes. In addition, when genes flow among different groups, the cooperative or competitive relationships among microorganisms will also be reshaped, bringing about a new balance in the entire network structure. 6.3 Implications for sustainable agriculture and microbial resource management In agricultural production, discussions related to HGT often cannot bypass the issues of soil health and the spread of drug-resistant genes. Practices such as manure application or sewage irrigation, on the one hand, replenish soil nutrients, but on the other hand, may also cause certain drug-resistant genes or functional genes to spread more rapidly in the soil, thereby altering the operation mode of microbial communities. To keep this kind of risk within
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==