The fate of new bacterial genes

Bacteria experience a continual influx of novel genetic material from a wide range of sources and yet their genomes remain relatively small. This aspect of bacterial evolution indicates that most newly arriving sequences are rapidly eliminated; however, numerous new genes persist, as evident from the presence of unique genes in almost all bacterial genomes. This review summarizes the methods for identifying new genes in bacterial genomes and examines the features that promote the retention and elimination of these evolutionary novelties.