BMC Genomics BioMed Central Research article Open Access Horizontal gene transfer from Bacteria to rumen Ciliates indicates adaptation to their anaerobic, carbohydrates-rich environment Guénola Ricard*1, Neil R McEwan2, Bas E Dutilh1, Jean-Pierre Jouany3, Didier Macheboeuf3, Makoto Mitsumori4, Freda M McIntosh5, Tadeusz Michalowski6, Takafumi Nagamine7, Nancy Nelson5, Charles J Newbold7, Eli Nsabimana3, Akio Takenaka4, Nadine A Thomas5, Kazunari Ushida8, Johannes HP Hackstein9 and Martijn A Huynen1 Address: 1Center for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Nijmegen Center for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2Institute of Rural Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, SY23 3AL, UK, 3I.N.R.A., Station de Recherches sur la Nutrition des Herbivores, Centre de Recherches de Clermont-Ferrand/Theix, France, 4National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, 2 Ikenodai, Kukizaki, Ibaraki, 305-0901, Japan, 5Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, AB21 9SB, UK, 6Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Polish Academy of Sciences, Jablonna, Warsaw, Poland, 7Rumen Microbiology Research Team, STAFF-Institute, 446-1 Ippaizuka, Kamiyokoba, Tsukuba 305-0854, Japan, 8Laboratory of Animal Science, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan and 9Department of Evolutionary Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Email: Guénola Ricard* -
[email protected]; Neil R McEwan -
[email protected]; Bas E Dutilh