Horizontal Gene Transfer Custody Record

PROBLEM: Biofilms are hotspots for horizontal gene transfer: resistance determinants circulate between bacterial genera through conjugative plasmid exchange, natural transformation, and bacteriophage transduction, inside the protected extracellular matrix of a polymicrobial community. A resistance gene can move from one species to another with no record of the transfer — no donor, no recipient, no time, no route. Facilities and laboratories that track antimicrobial resistance have no standard custody record for these transfers: the gene is found in a new host, but the chain of custody is blank.

SOLUTION: A horizontal gene transfer custody record: every resistance determinant logged with its detected host, its suspected donor lineage, the transfer mechanism observed (conjugation, transformation, or transduction), and the biofilm context — so a resistance gene's movement has a chain of custody, the way any controlled substance's movement would.

EVIDENCE BASIS: DOCUMENTED — biofilms as HGT hotspots via conjugation, transformation and transduction (Tatta & Kumavath 2026, Frontiers in Bacteriology); polymicrobial biofilm matrix and microgradients (Shrout 2011).