http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== COSMIC ANCESTRY | Quick Guide | Next | by Brig Klyce | All Rights Reserved Viruses and Other Gene Transfer Mechanisms What'sNEW <#whatsnew> /Viruses today spread genes among bacteria and humans and other cells, as they always have... We are our viruses/ ? Lynn Margulis, 1998 (1) <# 1ref> /May we not feel that in the virus, in their merging with the cellular genome and their re-emerging from them, we observe processes which, in the course of evolution, have created the succesful genetic patterns that underlie all living things?/ ? Salvador Luria, 1959 (2) <# 2ref> Poliovirus poliovirus from Science The Darwinian paradigm holds that copying mistakes and the shuffling of existing genes are sufficient to write the new genes needed for evolutionary advances. Cosmic Ancestry holds that these processes cannot write useful new genes. Instead, for a species to make evolutionary progress, new genes must first be installed into its genome from outside. We will discuss well-known processes which can install new genes into the genome of a given species. Then we will look at viruses. Recombination Mutation is the mechanism of genetic change that we hear the most about. Every known example of mutation, however, is either neutral or deleterious in its effect. The rare exception is the back-mutation, which merely undoes the damage of a previous mutation and restores the affected strand of DNA to its original condition. Recombination is a much more powerful way for DNA to change. If an organism's genome were written out as text, mutations would be single-letter mistakes, whereas recombination takes whole words, sentences, paragraphs, pages or groups of pages and moves them to different locations. These new locations could be elsewhere in the same paragraph, page, bookshelf, or library. Obviously a powerful mechanism like recombination should be incorporated into anyone's understanding of the theory of evolution. There are three kinds of recombination: * When two strings of similar DNA line up with each other and swap sections, it's called *homologous recombination*. * When shorter pieces of similar DNA line up to initiate a swap of longer, dissimilar pieces (of which the shorter pieces can be part), that's called *site-specific recombination*. * *Transposition* enables a piece of DNA to move within the same chromosome, or to a different chromosome, to a location with which it has no similarity. The Transfer of DNA Across Species Boundaries /Bacteria trade genes more frantically than a pit full of traders on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange/ ? Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan (3) <# 3ref> While recombination moves whole blocks of genetic instructions within a cell, other processes move whole blocks of genetic information from one bacterium to another bacterium of a different kind. In the analogy between genes and written text, this move is a transfer of paragraphs or pages from one library to another. One such process is *transformation*. Here pieces of genetic instructions are released by a bacterium into its environment. Another bacterium, not necessarily of the same strain, picks up the DNA and incorporates it into its own genome. For example, /Streptococcus pneumoniae/ that are not pathogenic can become so by transformation (4) <# 4ref>. As an illustration of transformation, think of a passenger who jumps overboard from one ship and is later picked up by another one. *Conjugation* is the bacterial version of sex. In conjugation, bacterial cells actually connect, and the "male" donates a piece of DNA to the "female." The piece of DNA in this case was excised earlier from the bacterial chromosome. Such excised pieces of DNA are called plasmids. (Plasmids, being able to pass out of one cell and into another, are similar to viruses. But they have no protein coat and no "life cycle" different from that of their host cell; in this respect they resemble small chromosomes.) If the transferred genetic material is a passenger on a ship, in the transfer of plasmids by conjugation the ships come alongside each other and the passenger walks across a gangplank to the new ship. *Transduction* is yet another way for bacteria to exchange genetic material. In transduction, a virus takes up a piece of DNA from its bacterial host and incorporates it into its own viral genome. After the virus has multiplied, many copies of the virus erupt from the infected cell. Depending on the kind of transduction, some or all of the daughter viruses take copies of parts of the bacterial DNA with them. When one of them infects a new cell, it inserts the stolen DNA into the new cell, where the stolen piece becomes integrated into the new cell's DNA. (The stolen piece may be a whole gene with which the cell acquires a new function, as was reported in June, 1996, by two scientists at Harvard Medical School (5) <# 5ref>.) In transduction, the passenger resorts to hiding inside some freight, hoping to get aboard a different ship that way. *Transduction by viruses works in eukaryotic organisms as well.* The discovery that large blocks of genetic instructions can be swapped and transferred among creatures is a clue that the insertion of new genes could be the mechanism behind evolutionary advances. If viruses can transfer eukaryotic genes across species boundaries, and can install their own genes into their hosts, the case for the new mechanism is even stronger. As we will see, viruses do just that. *Viruses are mobile genetic elements* (6) <# 6ref> /It was an absolutely stunning surprise to us that something as strange as viruses carrying genes from one cell to another can happen/ ? Joshua Lederberg (7) <# 7ref> If your computer suddenly begins to greet you with a vulgar message, you will recognize that the computer has contracted a virus. It might have arrived via the modem, it might have come with a new program on a disk, or someone might have stealthily keyed it in. It might even have been there when you originally acquired the computer. However it got there, it is definitely a computer virus, and your computer did not spontaneously generate it. Computer viruses are called viruses because they are analogous to biological viruses that infect living cells. Because viruses are simpler than cells, biologists used to think that maybe viruses were the precellular life forms that Darwinism requires. Today however, even Darwinists don't think that viruses are this link. Viruses are not independently capable of metabolism or reproduction. Biologists now think that viruses evolved after cells. What is a virus? T4 virusA virus is a piece of genetic instructions, usually in a protective coat. Virus particles are tiny; a cell can manufacture and contain as many as a thousand of them before breaking open. They were first discovered when biologists observed that some disease-causing agents were able to pass through a filter too fine for bacteria. They can be small because they contain almost none of the machinery of a cell, only a smallish quantity of DNA (or RNA). Viruses are not living things. When they are outside of their host cell, they are just very complex molecular particles that have no metabolism and no way to reproduce. In our computer metaphor, they're like software with no hardware, floppy disks or diskettes without a computer. Having no independent metabolism they can remain viable indefinitely, under the right circumstances. "Some of them can even be crystallized, like minerals. In this state they can survive for years unchanged ? until they are wetted and placed into contact with their particular hosts" (8) <# 8ref>. The viruses that infect bacteria are more specifically called bacteriophages, or simply phages. The kind and amount of genetic instructions in phages vary from 3,600 RNA nucleotides to 166,000 DNA nucleotide pairs (9) <# 9ref>. To restate these dimensions in terms of our computer analogy, the computer viruses that infect handheld calculators range in size from 900 bytes to over 40 kilobytes. For comparison, the simplest handheld calculator (bacterium) has about 200 kilobytes of stored programs. Herpesvirus Herpesvirus by Linda Stannard via All the Virology on the WWW The viruses that infect eukaryotic cells vary in size also. The poliovirus has 7,600 RNA nucleotides; the vaccinia (cowpox) virus has 240,000 DNA nucleotide pairs (10) <# 10ref>. To use computer terms again, the computer viruses that infect personal computers range in size from 1.9 kilobytes to 60 kilobytes. For comparison, a very simple personal computer (a yeast cell) has genetic instructions equivalent to about 8 megabytes. An advanced personal computer (a human cell) contains about 1.5 gigabytes of stored information, counting the backup copy and the "silent" DNA. When a virus attaches to its host cell, the host may take the whole virus into its cytoplasm where the virus's protective coat is removed. Some bacteriophages use a different invasion method. They remain outside the cell and a chemical trigger causes them to inject their genome into the host's cytoplasm. Either way, the virus's genome enters the cytoplasm of the host cell. Once inside, the virus causes the machinery of the host cell to enter one of two cycles, the lytic cycle or the lysogenic cycle. In the lytic cycle, which leads to cell degradation, the host begins to carry out the reproductive instructions in the invading virus's genome. Those instructions are, in summary, "make more of me." The host becomes a slave to the invader; it drops everything and begins to manufacture copies of the virus. After many copies have been made, the cell breaks open and dies, and many viruses are released. This is the normal way in which a virus causes symptoms of disease in its host. In the lysogenic cycle the host cell does not make more viruses, but simply harbors the entire viral genome in the cell, usually by incorporating it into the cell's genome. If the virus is an RNA virus, as many are, the RNA must first undergo "reverse transcription" into DNA. While harboring the viral genes, the cell may grow and multiply normally, carrying the new instructions harmlessly along with it. A virus carried in this manner is said to be latent. Recently scientists have learned that even during latency, some of the virus's genes can be expressed (11) <# 11ref>. Transduction Transduction Sometimes after lysogenic integration of the viral genome into the host's DNA, an "induction event" can cause the viral infection to revert to the lytic cycle, in which the cell makes many copies of the virus and dies. After this happens, the numerous new virus particles can then infect many other cells. If the new infections are lysogenic, the virus's genes may again become integrated into the DNA of the new cells without harm to them. Lytic infection of one host followed by lysogenic infection in another is also called transduction. When we discussed transduction earlier, we said viruses could tranduct a cell's genes to another cell. Here we see that the virus's own genes can also be transducted into cells. This method of acquiring genes is not in doubt. Among bacteria, for example, "There are some well-documented cases of homologies between viral genes and their host counterparts. ...Some past exchanges have occurred between distantly related phages and between phage and host" (12) <# 12ref>. Eukaryotes are also known to acquire viral genes, and the phenomenon is not rare. "Endogenous retroviruses and retroviral elements have been found in all vertebrates investigated.... As a general rule, the number of groups of viral sequences found within a given vertebrate species is proportional to the effort spent searching that species" (13) <# 13ref>. And it has now been shown that some of the genes that viruses install have a beneficial function for the host. In fact, doctors now use viruses to install genes in the new field of "gene therapy." Even the virus that causes AIDS, if properly disabled, may become useful this way (14, 15) <# 14ref>. When the genome of /Bacillus subtilis/ was completely sequenced and published in July, 1997, the sequencers noticed another interesting example of gene transfer. "...Some of the bacteriophages in /B. subtilis/ also appear to contribute genes that aid the host bacterium by helping it resist harmful substances such as heavy metals" (16) <# 16ref>. This evidence confirms that genes installed by a virus into the genome of the host can be beneficial, even essential, for the evolution of the host. One example of a benefit conferred by viral genes comes from humans. A sequence installed by a retrovirus regulates the amylase gene cluster, allowing us to produce amylase in our saliva. This sequence that we share with a few other primates enables us to eat starchy foods we otherwise couldn't (17) <# 17ref>. In August, 1997, another whole-genome sequencing, of /Helicobacter pylori/, found that many genes in it are more similar to those of eukaryotes or archaea than other bacteria (18) <# 18ref>. "Such observations... are often interpreted as evidence of lateral gene transfer in the evolutionary history of an organism," say the sequencers. Additional evidence that genes can move across species boundaries even in eukaryotes comes in the June 13, 1997, issue of /Science/. A report there by Frederico J. Gueiros-Filho and Stephen M. Beverley of Harvard describes the "Trans-kingdom Transposition" of a gene-size piece of DNA known as a transposable element (19) <# 19ref>. The particular transposable element they studied, called /mariner/, has already been found in planaria, nematodes, centipedes, many insects, and humans (20) <# 20ref>. Until recently, transposable elements were considered to be functionless, or "junk DNA." But John McDonald, a professor in the department of genetics at the University of Georgia, concludes, "It now appears that at least some transposable elements may be essential to the organisms in which they reside. Even more interesting is the growing likelihood that transposable elements have played an essential role in the evolution of higher organisms, including humans" (21) <# 21ref>. Another team of biologists has demonstrated that by transformation (discussed above in bacteria) a /mariner/ element can become installed into the inherited genome of zebrafish (22) <# 22ref>. So viruses are not the only mobile genetic elements. In conclusion, viruses could easily provide a way for new genes never before encountered by a species to become part of its genome. That viruses install new genes into their hosts is not speculative ? it is a well known fact. That transferred genes are important in evolution is becoming well established. According to Cosmic Ancestry, the horizontal transfer of genes by viruses and other means is essential for evolutionary progress. 20 Sep 2005: *New website navigation for HGT* ? The What'sNEW section on this "Viruses..." webpage now holds more than 200 items, almost all pertaining to horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Many of them were important enough, we originally thought, to post as brief articles on the main What'sNEW page, with internal crosslinks between each article and this page. Now we have also linked those articles to each other, enabling you to view them in sequence without returning here. From an article in the What'sNEW Archives, the new links appear following the existing link to this webpage, as *[Next <#newlinks>-What'sNEW about HGT-Prev <#newlinks>]*. The remaining What'sNEW items on this page, denoted by the or icons, refer to external articles only and are unaffected by this new feature. What'sNEW /It is almost certainly the case that some modern-day retrotransposons... are derived from retroviruses that lost their infectivity and are more properly considered as ancient endogenous retroviruses./ ? J.D. Boeke and J.P. Stoye, 1997 (23) <# 23ref> 15 Mar 2006 : The paradigm for evolution among prokaryotes has completely shifted. Vladimir V. Kapitonov and Jerzy Jurka, "Self-synthesizing DNA transposons in eukaryotes" [abstract ], 10.1073/pnas.0600833103, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 14 Mar 2006. Yuji Inagaki et al., "Recombination between elongation factor 1? genes from distantly related archaeal lineages" [abstract ], 10.1073/pnas.0600744103, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 14 Mar 2006. "These findings suggest that [homologous recombination] occurs across a much larger evolutionary distance than generally accepted and affects highly conserved essential "informational" genes." 28 Feb 2006 : Can Viruses Make Us Human? by Luis P. Villarreal. 24 Feb 2006 : Retroposed genes have contributed to human evolution. Niels-Ulrik Frigaard, "Proteorhodopsin lateral gene transfer between marine planktonic Bacteria and Archaea" [abstract / Editor's Summary ], 10.1038/nature04435, p 847-850 v 439, /Nature/, 16 Feb 2006. Roy Britten, "Transposable elements have contributed to thousands of human proteins" [abstract ], 10.1073pnas.0510007103, p 1798-1803 v 103, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 7 Feb (online 27 Jan) 2006. ...Evolution of signalling pathways , EurekAlert!, 7 Feb 2006. "The results also show that multi-component pathways evolve, in part, by the insertion of novel proteins between existing pathway components." Zhixi Su et al., "Evolution of alternative splicing after gene duplication" [abstract ], 10.1101/gr.4197006, p 182-189 v 16, /Genome Research/, Feb 2006 (online 19 Dec 2005). "These results support the subfunctionization model of alternative splicing.... In the early stage after gene duplication, young duplicates may take over a certain amount of protein function diversity that previously was carried out by the alternative splicing mechanism." Cas Simons et al., "Transposon-free regions in mammalian genomes" [abstract ], 10.1101/gr.4624306, p 164-172 v 16, /Genome Research/, Feb 2006 (online 19 Dec 2005). "...A conclusion difficult to reconcile with current conceptions of gene regulation." 2 Feb 2006 : A toxin found only in spiders and bacteria was probably installed by gene transfer. 28 Jan 2006 : Important aspects of the history of life are replicable and predictable. Chris Tyler-Smith et al., "The rise and fall of the ape Y chromosome?" [abstract ], 10.1038/ng0206-141, p 141-143 v 38, /Nature Genetics/, Feb 2006. "The sequence of a second chimpanzee Y chromosome ...reveals the recent gain of one [gene] on the human lineage...." 18 Jan 2006 : /We hypothesize that these 'jumping genomic segments' are part of an ongoing evolutionary process.../ ? Evan Eichler. 5 Jan 2006 : "Evolution in Action" was the number one "Breakthrough of the Year" according to /Science/. Masayuki Machida et al., "Genome sequencing and analysis of /Aspergillus oryzae/" [abstract ], doi:10.1038/nature04300, p 1157-1161 v 438, /Nature/, 22 Dec 2005. "...The increase in genome size seems to be due to an ...acquisition of sequence...." Also see commentary: André Goffeau, "Genomics: Multiple moulds" [text ], doi:10.1038/4381092b, p 1092-1093 v 438, /Nature/, 22 Dec 2005. "...Species closely related ...have similar gene acquisitions." Olin K. Silander, Daniel M. Weinreich et al., "Widespread genetic exchange among terrestrial bacteriophages" [abstract ], doi:10.1073/pnas.0503074102, p 19009-19014 v 102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 27 Dec (online 19 Dec) 2005. "This extraordinary rate of genetic exchange between highly unrelated individuals is unprecedented in any taxa." Alexander A. Hopitzan et al., "Molecular Evolution of Ankyrin: Gain of Function in Vertebrates by Acquisition of an Obscurin/Titin-Binding?Related Domain" [abstract ], doi:10.1093/molbev/msj004, p 46-55 v 23, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Jan 2006 (online 31 Aug 2005). "Our data indicate that an ancestral ankyrin acquired an 18-aa module which was preserved in the Ecdysozoa/deuterostome divide, but it was subsequently lost from arthropods. Successive duplications of the module led to a gain of function in vertebrates as it acquired obscurin/titin-binding activity." Anat Caspi and Lior Pachter, "Identification of transposable elements using multiple alignments of related genomes" [abstract ], doi: 10.1101/gr.4361206, /Genome Research/, online 14 Dec 2005. 8 Dec 2005 : Simple sea anemones and coral have many genes thought to be exclusive to higher animals and some plants. 2 Dec 2005 : Transformation and conjugation are examined in detail. Yoshihiko Sakaguchi et al., "The genome sequence of /Clostridium botulinum/ type C neurotoxin-converting phage and the molecular mechanisms of unstable lysogeny" [Open Access abstract ], doi:10.1073/pnas.0505503102, p 17472-17477 v 102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 29 Nov (online 15 Nov) 2005. "...BoNTX phages comprise a divergent phage family, probably generated by exchanging genomic segments among BoNTX phages and their relatives." HIV inserts into human genome using a DNA-associated protein , EurekAlert!, 27 Nov 2005. "This implies that LEDGF is part of the machinery that helps dictate the placement of retroviral integration sites within chromosomes." 25 Nov 2005 : A small marine worm has complex genes like humans'. Nancy A. Moran et al., "The players in a mutualistic symbiosis: Insects, bacteria, viruses, and virulence genes" [abstract ], doi:10.1073/pnas.0507029102, p 16919-16926 v 102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 22 Nov (online 29 Sep) 2005. "We propose that, in these mutualistic symbionts, phage-borne toxin genes provide defense to the aphid host...." 21 Nov 2005 : Gene transfer, not duplication, has modified bacterial metabolism.... 15 Nov 2005 : Plant virus can change insect vectors; Photosynthesis genes in viruses. Miroslav Oborník and Beverley R. Green, "Mosaic Origin of the Heme Biosynthesis Pathway in Photosynthetic Eukaryotes" [abstract ], doi:10.1093/molbev/msi230, p 2343-2353 v 22, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Dec (online 10 Aug) 2005. "...This suggests that genes were either transferred from the primary endosymbiont ...or replaced with genes from other sources...." Wei-Jen Chang, Paul D. Bryson, Han Liang, Mann Kyoon Shin, and Laura F. Landweber, "The evolutionary origin of a complex scrambled gene" [abstract ], doi:10.1073/pnas.0505734102, p 15144-15148 v 102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 18 Oct (online 10 Oct) 2005. 17 Oct 2005 : /The principal process by which new gene functions arise is by making use of preexisting genes/ ? Roy J. Britten 30 Sep 2005 : The chimp genome has been sequenced. At least seventeen human genes contain exons missing in chimps. Nancy A. Moran et al., "The players in a mutualistic symbiosis: Insects, bacteria, viruses, and virulence genes" [abstract ], doi:10.1073/pnas.0507029102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 29 Sep 2005. Flu Virus Jumps from Horses to Dogs by Martin Ensernik, ScienceNow, 26 Sep 2005. 26 Sep 2005 : Common bacteria share an infinite gene pool?! 23 Sep 2005 : Today's protein families have been fine-tuned from ancient templates. 22 Sep 2005 : Prokaryote genomes reveal extensive gene transfer. 18 Sep 2005 : /Mobile Genetic Elements afford their prokaryotic hosts access to vast genetic resources/ ? Laura S. Frost et al. 16 Sep 2005 : /...All the genes for building those complex animals existed long before [the Cambrian] explosion/ ? Lewis Wolpert Rebecca K. Cowan et al., "/MUSTANG/ Is a Novel Family of Domesticated Transposase Genes Found in Diverse Angiosperms" [abstract ], doi:10.1093/molbev/msi202, p 2084-2089 v 22, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Oct (online 29 Jun) 2005. Focus on Horizontal Gene Transfer ? a selection of recently published Reviews, Perspectives and Research Highlights on the topic of HGT from the Nature Reviews journals.... also recent original Research Papers, News & Views and Reviews published by /Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Biotechnology/ and /Heredity/, 1 Sep 2005. Julia E. Kravchenko et al., "Transcription of mammalian messenger RNAs by a nuclear RNA polymerase of mitochondrial origin" [abstract ], doi: 10.1038/nature03848, p 735-739 v 436, /Nature/, 4 Aug 2005. Edward C. Holmes et al., "Whole-Genome Analysis of Human Influenza A Virus Reveals Multiple Persistent Lineages and Reassortment among Recent H3N2 Viruses" [text ], doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030300, v 3 n 9, /Public Library of Science/, Sep 2005. Victor Kunin et al., "The net of life: Reconstructing the microbial phylogenetic network" [abstract ], doi: 10.1101/gr.3666505, p 954-959 v 15, /Genome Research/, online 17 Jun 2005. "We propose that genes might propagate extremely rapidly across microbial species through the HGT network, using certain organisms as hubs." Matthew Berriman et al., "The Genome of the African Trypanosome /Trypanosoma brucei/" [abstract ], doi: 10.1126/science.1112642, p 416-422 v 309, /Science/, 15 Jul 2005. "Horizontal transfer of genes of bacterial origin has contributed to some of the metabolic differences in these parasites...." 24 August 2005 : More than 80 new exons per genome per million years emerge among rodents. Patrik Inderbitzin et al., "Lateral transfer of mating system in /Stemphylium/" [abstract ], doi: 10.1073/pnas.0501918102, p 11390-11395 v 102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 9 Aug (online 29 Jul) 2005. 6 August 2005 : Parallel evolution has been observed in fruitflies. Serge N. Vinogradov et al., "Three globin lineages belonging to two structural classes in genomes from the three kingdoms of life" [abstract ], doi: 10.1073/pnas.0502103102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 1 Aug 2005. "Phylogenetic trees ...indicate the possibility of past horizontal globin gene transfers from bacteria to eukaryotes." 30 July 2005 : Gene transfer in fungi. Elena Serviene et al., "Genome-wide screen identifies host genes affecting viral RNA recombination" [abstract ], doi: 10.1073/pnas.0504844102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 18 Jul 2005. Sarah J. Wheelan, Yasunori Aizawa, et al., "Gene-breaking: A new paradigm for human retrotransposon-mediated gene evolution" [abstract ], doi: 10.1101/gr.3688905, /Genome Research/, online 15 Jul 2005. Artem S. Novozhilov et al., "Mathematical Modeling of Evolution of Horizontally Transferred Genes" [abstract ], p 1721-1732 v 22, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Aug 2005. "Horizontally acquired sequences can be fixed in a population only when they confer a substantial selective advantage onto the recipient and therefore are subject to strong positive selection.... Our modeling results are compatible with the notion of a pivotal role of horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of prokaryotes." Manuel Zúñiga et al., "Horizontal Gene Transfer in the Molecular Evolution of Mannose PTS Transporters" [abstract ], p 1673-1685 v 22, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Aug 2005. Stolen gene allows insect virus to enter cells , by Shawna Williams, Cornell News Service, 1 Jul 2005. 1 July 2005 : A new microbial tree of life has been drawn by geneticists at EMBL. 27 June 2005 : "Gene duplication is the primary source of new genes." Virus Uses Tiny RNA to Evade the Immune System , Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2 Jun 2005. W. Martin, "Lateral gene transfer and other possibilities" [pdf ], p 565-566 v 94, /Heredity/, Jun (online 30 Mar) 2005. Same Fold in Viral Shells Point to Common Ancestry , re: Michael Rossmann, Newswise.com, 18 May 2005. Jumping Genes and the Red Planet , re: Carrine Blank, Astrobiology Magazine, 13 May 2005. Edward Coe and Lee B. Kass, "Proof of physical exchange of genes on the chromosomes" (Perspective about Harriet Creighton and Barbara McClintock) [abstract ], p 6641-6646 v 102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 10 May 2005. A. Carolin Frank et al., "Functional Divergence and Horizontal Transfer of Type IV Secretion Systems" [abstract ], p 1325-1336 v 22 n 5, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, May 2005. Howard Ochman, Emmanuelle Lerat and Vincent Daubin, "Examining bacterial species under the specter of gene transfer and exchange" [abstract ], doi:10.1073/pnas.0502035102, p 6595-6599 v 102 suppl 1, /Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA/, 3 May (online 25 Apr) 2005. Colin MacIlwain, "Stray seeds had antibiotic-resistance genes," doi:10.1038/434548a [text ], p 548 v 434, /Nature/, 31 Mar 2005. "...There is a small chance that they could flow from crops to microorganisms." Loïc Ponger and Wen-Hsiung Li, "Evolutionary Diversification of DNA Methyltransferases in Eukaryotic Genomes," doi:10.1093/molbev/msi098 [abstract ], p 1119-1128 v 22 n 4, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Apr 2005. "...Suggesting that horizontal transfers of MTases occurred between eukaryotes and prokaryotes." Sabine E. Hammer, Sabine Strehl and Sylvia Hagemann, "Homologs of /Drosophila P/ Transposons Were Mobile in Zebrafish but Have Been Domesticated in a Common Ancestor of Chicken and Human," doi:10.1093/molbev/msi068 [abstract ], p 833-844 v 22 n 4, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Apr 2005. 24 Mar 2005 : Plants can overwrite unhealthy genes. 16 Mar 2005 : /Life?s Solution/, by Simon Conway Morris. 28 Feb 2005 : Can pre-existing genetic programs be pieced together? 24 Feb 2005 : Prokaryote to eukaryote gene transfer is evident in the sequenced genome of an intesinal parasite. Duplication Makes a New Primate Gene ? a new CA webpage, 21 Feb 2005. Wim Broothaerts et al., "Gene transfer to plants by diverse species of bacteria," doi:10.1038/nature03309 [abstract ], p 629-633 v 433, /Nature/, 10 Feb 2005. 3 Feb 2005 : Complex early genes. 13 Jan 2005 : Genes from retroviruses. 1 Jan 2005 : Gene exchange among archaebacteria from salt pools in Spain. 27 Dec 2004 : Plastid Portability. Liqin Zhou et al., "Transposition of /hAT/ elements links transposable elements and V(D)J recombination" [abstract ], 10.1038/nature03157, p 995-102 v 432, /Nature/, 23/30 Dec 2004. The movement of transposable elements is linked to the process which underlies the combinatorial formation of antigen receptor genes. Ulfar Bergthorsson et al., "Massive horizontal transfer of mitochondrial genes from diverse land plant donors to the basal angiosperm /Amborella/" [abstract ], 10.1073/pnas.0408336102, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 14 Dec 2004. Peter Wenzl et al.­, "A Functional Screen Identifies Lateral Transfer of B-Glucuronidase (/gus/) from Bacteria to Fungi" [abstract ], p 308-316 v 22 n 2, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/ 2005, online 13 Oct 2004. Tsuyoshi Tanaka, Yoshio Tateno and Takashi Gojobori­, "Evolution of Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Metabolism by Gain and Loss of Genes" [abstract ], p 243-250 v 22 n 2, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/ 2005, online 13 Oct 2004. Stephen P. Goff­, "Genetic Control of Retrovirus Susceptibility in Mammalian Cells" [abstract ], p 61-85, /Annual Review of Genetics/, Dec 2004. Min Chen et al.­, "Unique Origin and Lateral Transfer of Prokaryotic Chlorophyll-/b/ and Chlorophyll-/d/ Light-Harvesting Systems" [abstract ], p 22-28 v 22 n 1, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/ 2005, online 8 Sep 2004. 26 Nov 2004 : The evolution of a new fruitfly gene... Huge New Virus Defies Classification by Michael Schirber, Live Science, 11 Nov 2004. "There are more than 1,200 genes.... [including] translation genes. The researchers are not yet sure, though, if the virus actually uses them." 23 Nov 2004 : Human genes composed mainly of mobile elements. 21 Nov 2004 : Evidence that 1,183 human genes were "born" 3-4 million years ago, by duplication and divergence.... 19 Nov 2004 : Plant-to-plant gene transfer is illuminated by geneticists at Indiana University. 30 Oct 2004 : "Horizontal transfer ...is a continuing and persistent means of creating biological novelty," says Andrew Knoll. 29 Oct 2004 : Pack-MULE transposable elements mediate gene evolution in plants. 28 Oct 2004 : A diatom genome has been sequenced. (Transfer is noted.) Ken Jopp wonders what gene transfer has to do with CA, and Klyce replies, 21 Oct 2004. 21 Oct 2004 : Eukaryote-to-eukaryote lateral gene transfer.... Bacteria are genetically modified by lightning by Andy Coghlan, New Scientist, 19 Oct 2004. "By opening up pores in soil bacteria it allows them to pick up any stray DNA present." Giant virus qualifies as 'living organism' by Mark Peplow, News at nature.com, 14 Oct 2004. 9 Oct 2004 : Retroelements that confer a selective advantage. 14 Sep 2004 : Halobacteria can repair badly damaged DNA. Wei-Gang Qiu et al., "Genetic exchange and plasmid transfers in /Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto/ revealed by three-way genome comparisons and multilocus sequence typing" [abstract ], 10.1073/pnas.0402745101, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 16 Sep 2004. P. S. G. Chain et al., "Insights into the evolution of Yersinia pestis through whole-genome comparison with /Yersinia pseudotuberculosis/" [abstract ], 10.1073/pnas.0404012101, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, online 9 Sep 2004. 9 Sep 2004 : The ring of life! Arturo Medrano-Soto et al., "Successful Lateral Transfer Requires Codon Usage Compatibility Between Foreign Genes and Recipient Genomes" [abstract ], p 1884-1894 v 21 n 10, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Oct 2004. Fabiana Herédia et al., "Complex Evolution of /gypsy/ in Drosophilid Species" [abstract ], p 1831-1842 v 21 n 10, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, Oct 2004. "...Discrepancy between the phylogeny of gypsy elements and the relationship of their host species ...allow us to infer a complex evolutionary pattern that could include ...several cases of horizontal transmission." 1 Sep 2004 : Gene transfer among eukaryotes. Norbert Bannert and Reinhard Kurth, "Retroelements and the human genome: New perspectives on an old relation" [abstract ], 10.1073/pnas.0404838101, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/ online 13 Aug 2004. Philippa Melamed, Kok Leong Chong and Maria Vang Johansen, "Evidence for lateral gene transfer from salmonids to two /Schistosome/ species," p 786-787 v 36, /Nature Genetics/, Aug 2004. Charles C. Davis and Kenneth J. Wurdack, "Host-to-Parasite Gene Transfer in Flowering Plants: Phylogenetic Evidence from Malpighiales" [abstract ], p 676-678 v 305, /Science/, 30 Jul 2004. 27 July 2004 : More about photosynthesis by gene transfer. Chun Y. Huang, Michael A. Ayliffe and Jeremy N. Timmis, "Simple and complex nuclear loci created by newly transferred chloroplast DNA in tobacco" [abstract ], p 9710-9715 v 101, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 29 June 2004. "...Studies on organelle DNA transfer ...in real time." Weilong Hao and G. B. Golding, "Patterns of Bacterial Gene Movement," p 1294-1307 v 21 n 7, /Mol. Biol. Evol./, July 2004. "...Many of the insertions are specific to each organism and are lost before related species can evolve." Ulrich Genschel, "Coenzyme A Biosynthesis: Reconstruction of the Pathway in Archaea and an Evolutionary Scenario Based on Comparative Genomics," p 1242-1251 v 21 n 7, /Mol. Biol. Evol./, July 2004. "The phylogenies of these enzymes indicate that they were acquired from bacterial thermophiles through horizontal gene transfer." 3 June 2004 : More animal genes came from bacteria. Carl R. Woese, "A New Biology for a New Century" [abstract ], p 173-186 v 68, /Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews/, DOI:10.1128/MMBR.68.2.173-186.2004, June 2004. Once the cellular translation machinery was in place, "HGT... is postulated merely to diminish (dramatically) in scope and frequency.... until HGT and cellular organization reach the levels at which they exist today." 27 May 2004 : Microbes have stolen some of our genes! 5 May 2004 : Viruses old as life? Tracey Allen K. Freitas et al., "Ancestral hemoglobins in /Archaea/" [abstract ], /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 27 Apr 2004. 16 Apr 2004 : The rat genome has been sequenced. Robert Belshaw et al., "Long-term reinfection of the human genome by endogenous retroviruses" [abstract ], /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/ online, 25 Mar 2004. Haig H. Kazazian, Jr., "Mobile Elements: Drivers of Genome Evolution" [abstract ], p 1626-1632 v 303, /Science/, 12 Mar 2004. Jennifer F. Hughes and John M. Coffin, "Human endogenous retrovirus K solo-LTR formation and insertional polymorphisms: Implications for human and viral evolution" [abstract ], /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/ online, 2 Feb 2004. 30 Jan 2004 : Organelles transfer genes, wholesale, to eukaryotes. 2003 , December 31: Stress can increase the rate of horizontal gene transfer. Alan Herbert, "The four Rs of RNA-directed evolution" [abstract ], p 19-25 v 36 n 1, /Nature Genetics/, Jan 2004. "The estimated percentage of the [human] genome derived from retrotransposition has increased [to] 45%...." Aoife McLysaght, Pierre F. Baldi and Brandon S. Gaut, "Extensive gene gain associated with adaptive evolution of poxviruses" [abstract ], p 15655-15660 v 100, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 23 Dec 2003. 2003 , December 22: A species of coral contains many sequences matching ones from genes thought to be peculiar to vertebrates. Frederic D. Bushman, "Integration Site Selection by Retroviruses and LTR-Retrotransposons" [abstract ], p 135-138 v 115, /Cell/, October 2003. 2003 , October 19: The NASA Astrobiology Institute Virus Focus Group Workshop. 2003 , October 11: As the burgeoning genome databases are analysed.... C. Neal Stewart et al., "Transgene Introgression from Genetically Modified Crops to Their Wild Relatives" [abstract ], p 806-817 v 4, /Nature Reviews Genetics/, October 2003. Louie N. van de Lagemaat, "Transposable elements in mammals promote regulatory variation and diversification of genes with specialized functions" [abstract ], p 530-536 v 19 n 10, /Trends in Genetics/, October 2003. Do microbes belong to one big gene pool or to numerous smaller ones? ? Dave Ward, Montana State University, Bozeman, 24 Sep 2003. Hyosig Won and Susanne S. Renner, "Horizontal gene transfer from flowering plants to Gnetum" [abstract ], PNAS Online, 8 September 2003. Camilla L. Nesbø and W. Ford Doolittle, "Active self-splicing group I introns in 23S rRNA genes of hyperthermophilic bacteria, derived from introns in eukaryotic organelles" [abstract ], PNAS Online, 28 Aug 2003. Stephen J. Gould et al., "The Trojan exosome hypothesis" [abstract ], PNAS Online, 28 Aug 2003. "We propose that retroviruses exploit a cell-encoded pathway of intercellular vesicle traffic, exosome exchange...." C. G. Kurland, "Horizontal gene transfer: A critical view" [abstract ], p 9658-9662 v 100, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 19 Aug 2003. A conservative opinion. 2003 , August 14: Photosynthesis genes in a virus... 2003 , August 8: Gene transfer, wholesale? Masamichi Kohiyama et al., " Bacterial Sex: Playing Voyeurs 50 Years Later" [abstract ], p 802-803 v 301, /Science/, 8 Aug 2003. Sandra Stegemann et al., "High-frequency gene transfer from the chloroplast genome to the nucleus" [abstract ], p 8828-8833 v 100, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 22 Jul 2003. "...The escape of genetic material from the chloroplast to the nuclear genome occurs much more frequently than generally believed and thus may contribute significantly to intraspecific and intraorganismic genetic variation." 2003 , July 20: More genes seem to precede the need for themselves. 2003 , July 10: The role of gene transfer in evolution is greater than previously thought. 2003 , June 30: Introns can cause new stretches of DNA to be precisely inserted into genomes. 2003 , June 19: Horizontal gene transfer as a significant evolutionary driver may require an addendum to the Darwinian synthesis. ...Snippets of DNA persist in soil for millennia , by Sid Perkins, Science News Online, 19 Apr 2003. 2003 , April 16: Point mutations are less important than rearrangements of longer DNA strands in evolution.... Extreme Lifeforms , an introduction to viruses from Astrobiology Magazine, 2 Apr 2003. 2003 , March 12: More on transposable elements (TEs). K.A. Frazer et al., "Genomic DNA insertions and deletions occur frequently between humans and nonhuman primates" [text ], p 341-346 v 13 n 3, /Genome Res./, Mar 2003. Chun Y. Huang, et al., "Direct measurement of the transfer rate of chloroplast DNA into the nucleus" [abstract ], p 72-76 v 422, /Nature/, 6 Mar 2003. "It has been estimated that 1,700 protein-coding nuclear genes of /Arabidopsis thaliana/ were acquired from cyanobacteria." Michael W. Gaunt, et al., "Mechanisms of genetic exchange in American Trypanosomes," p 936-939 v 421, /Nature/, 27 Feb 2003. 2003 , February 20: Regulatory sequences donated by transposable elements (TEs) contribute to human evolution. 2003 , February 18: Humanoid gene arose abruptly? James R. Brown, "Ancient horizontal gene transfer," doi:10.1038/nrg1000 [abstract ], p 121-132 v 4, /Nature Reviews Genetics/, Feb 2003. 2003 , January 28: Trypanosomes got genes from plants. 2003 , January 23: Wingless stick insects have re-evolved wings. 2003 , January 17: Horizontal gene transfer... Konstantin I. Pyatkov, et al., "/Penelope/ retroelements from /Drosophila virilis/ are active after transformation of /Drosophila melanogaster/" [abstract ], p 16150-16155 v 99 n 25, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 25 November 2002. "No insect retroelement has previously been reported to be actively transcribed and to increase in copy number after interspecific transformation." 2002 , November 28: Chimps to humans by viral infection? [followup] 2002 , November 24: Photosynthesis evolved by gene transfer. Rafael Zardoya, et al., "Origin of plant glycerol transporters by horizontal gene transfer and functional recruitment" [abstract ], p 14893-14896 v 99 n 23, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 12 November 2002. "...Plant glycerol transporters may [have] resulted from a single event of horizontal gene transfer from bacteria, which we have estimated to have occurred 1,200 million years ago...." Horizontal gene transfer, there's no mistaking it , by Bea Perks, BioMedNet, 13 Sep 2002. Dental bacteria swap resistance , BBCNews, 15 Sep 2002. Pär K. Ingvarsson and Douglas R. Taylor, "Genealogical evidence for epidemics of selfish genes" [abstract ], p 11265-11269 v 99 n 17, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 20 August 2002. "Some genetic elements spread infectiously in populations by increasing their rate of genetic transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome." 'Jumping genes' create ripples in the genome - and perhaps species' evolution , EurekAlert!, 15 August 2002. 2002 , 1 August: Evolutionary advance from chimps to humans linked to viruses. 2002 , July 7: /Acquiring Genomes/ by Margulis and Sagan. Parasite or partner? Study suggests new role for junk DNA , EurekAlert!, 12 May 2002, re: Tammy A. Morrish et al., "DNA repair mediated by endonuclease-independent LINE-1 retrotransposition" [abstract ], p 159-165 v 31 n 2, /Nature Genetics/, June 2002. 2002 , May 11: Lateral DNA Transfer ? a new book. Virginia L. Waters, "Conjugation between bacterial and mammalian cells" [abstract ], /Nature Genetics/, December 2001. 2002 , Apr 27: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs)= as much as 8% of the human genome. Researchers use 'Sleeping Beauty' enzyme to genetically modify a mouse , by David Largaespada et al., University of Minnesota News Service, 1 Apr 2002. Jumping genes make 'designer' animals easy , by Sylvia Pagàn Westphal, /New Scientist/, 27 Mar 2002. 2002 , March 18: Plant gene in a worm. Johann de Vries and Wilfried Wackernagel, "Integration of foreign DNA during natural transformation of /Acinetobacter/ sp. by homology-facilitated illegitimate recombination" [abstract ], p 2094-2099 v 99, /Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA/, 19 Feb 2002. Marc Prudhomme et al., "Homologous recombination at the border: Insertion-deletions and the trapping of foreign DNA in /Streptococcus pneumoniae/" [abstract ], p 2100-2105 v 99, /Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA/, 19 Feb 2002. Complete genome sequence of... /Ralstonia solanacearum/ sheds light on the mechanisms governing pathogenicity , Paris, 30 Jan 2002. "This genome undergoes rapid evolution, in particular through the acquisition of genes by horizontal gene transfer...." 2001 , December 21: A gene needed for multcellularity is present in a single-celled organism. Carlos Lois et al., "Germline Transmission and Tissue-Specific Expression of Transgenes Delivered by Lentiviral Vectors" [abstract ], /Sciencexpress/, 10 Jan 2002. Jennifer F. Hughes and John M. Coffin, "Evidence for genomic rearrangements mediated by human endogenous retroviruses during primate evolution" [abstract ], p 487-489 v 29 n 4, /Nature Genetics/ online 12 November 2001. Makoto Nagano et al., "Transgenic mice produced by retroviral transduction of male germ-line stem cells" [abstract ], p 13090-13095 v 98 n 23, /Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA/, 6 November 2001. Scientists report first transgenic animal developed via retroviral DNA insertion into male germ-line stem cells , by Steve Bradt, EurekAlert, 22 Oct 2001. Mikio Yoshiyama et al., "Possible Horizontal Transfer of a Transposable Element from Host to Parasitoid" [abstract ], p 1952-1958 v 18, /Molecular Biology and Evolution/, October 2001. 2001 , October 5: /Science/ features genome research... Constance Holden, "A Virus in the Family?" p 1987 v 293, /Science/, 14 September 2001. Philip Bell says, "The transition from a primitive cell to a complex one involves so many changes, it's hard to imagine them all occurring together without the involvement of a virus." 2001 , Sep 7: A reply from Damon Lisch discusses transposons. Genes Passed From Crops to Weeds Persist for Generations , by Holly Wagner, Ohio State University, 9 August 2001. Lightning jumpstarts evolution: Shocked bacteria swap genes , by Tom Clarke, Nature Science Update, 1 August 2001. The title would lead most people to think that Darwinism has received another confirmation. But as the subtitle explains, horizontal gene transfer ? and Cosmic Ancestry ? are actually supported by the research. Staph bacteria are prolific gene swappers, researchers show , EurekAlert, 9 July 2001. Lateral Thinking: Gene transfer between species likeliest in microorganisms , /The Scientist/, 9 July 2001. Different Staph Species Can Exchange Resistance Gene , UniSci.com, 25 May 2001. Nicholas Wade, "Link Between Human Genes and Bacteria Is Hotly Debated" [text ], /The New York Times/, 18 May 2001. We think the issue in this /NYT/ story and the next two /Science Online/ stories is all about jealousy between the two competing teams that sequenced the human genome. Certainly the case for horizontal gene transfer as a major factor in evolution is not in jeopardy. Steven L. Salzberg et al., "Microbial Genes in the Human Genome: Lateral Transfer or Gene Loss?" [abstract ], /Science Online/, 17 May 2001. Jan O. Andersson and Camilla L. Nesbo, "Are There Bugs in Our Genome?" [abstract ], /Science Online/, 17 May 2001. Many Bacteria Take Evolutionary Shortcut, Drop Genes , UniSci.com, 11 May 2001. "Many bacteria may evolve primarily by acquiring genes from each other, or by dropping whole genes that are no longer needed." Is schizophrenia caused by an enemy within? , /New Scientist/, 14 April 2001. "We all carry around retroviral DNA from viruses that inserted themselves into the human genome millions of years ago." 2001 , March 14: Transposons as a creative force. 2001 , February 17: Gene transfer in archaea ? 2001 , February 12: The human genome has only about 30,000 genes. Bacterium Can Alter Evolution Of Another Species , UniSci, 8 February 2001. Gene Sequence of Deadly /E. coli/ Reveals Surprisingly Dynamic Genome , National Institutes of Health, 24 January 2001. Hiroyuki Ogata et al., "Selfish DNA in Protein-Coding Genes of /Rickettsia/," [abstract ] p 347-350 v 290, /Science/, 13 October 2000. Genetic Parasites and a Whole Lot More : Transposable elements generate DNA mutations, alter gene expression, and otherwise fuel genetic diversity, by Barry A. Palevitz, /New Scientist/, 16 October 2000. 2000 , October 15: Entire genetic regions appear to have been transferred between species. 2000 , September 27: Prions can turn on genetic programs. Using Transposons, Not Viruses, In Gene Therapy , UniSci, 22 August 2000. Jumping Gene Caught In Midair In 3-D View , UniSci, 7 July 2000. 2000 , June 14: The genesis of life on earth... remains an unyielding problem. 2000 , May 24: An enzyme from a bacterial virus carries out the efficient, site-specific integration of incoming plasmids into human DNA. 2000 , May 18: Horizontal gene transfer produces extremely dynamic bacterial genomes. Ravi Jain et al. , "Horizontal transfer among genomes: The Complexity Hypothesis," [text ] p 3801-6 v 96, /PNAS/, 30 March 1999. 2000 , April 14: The microbial biosphere as a "World Wide Web" (Joshua Lederberg). 2000 , April 9: A DNA virus... could have been the ancestor of the eukaryotic replication system. 2000 , February 29: Another gene installed by a virus appears to serve an important human function. 2000 , February 25: Some horizontally transferred genes target the host's germ cells. 2000 , January 21: /Scientific American/ recognizes the evolutionary importance of lateral gene transfer. 1999 , December 7: Germ-line transmission of transgenes. 1999 , November 12: Genes installed by a virus benefit future generations of mammals. 1999 , November 9: Human Genome Bears a Virus Related to HIV. 1999 , November 4: /Horizontal Gene Transfer/: a new book. 1999 , October 14: Retroviruses appear ancient. 1999 , September 2: Viruses have been found deep under the Greenland icepack. Mobile DNA Sequences Could Be The Cause Of Chromosomal Mutations During The Evolution Of Species , /ScienceDaily/, 21 July 1999. Viruses 'steal bacteria DNA' ? "...But within the virus' genetic make-up were scores of genes from a variety of bacterial species. Most of them, however, had functions that were not useful to viruses, such as involvement in building bacteria cell walls." /BBCNEWS/, 15 July 1999. Mark J. Gibbs and Georg F. Weiller, "Evidence that a plant virus switched hosts to infect a vertebrate and then recombined with a vertebrate-infecting virus" [abstract ], p 8022-8027 v 96, /Proc Natl Acad Sci USA/, 6 July 1999. 1999 , May 27: Cholera-causing bacteria acquire their toxicity from viruses; /and/ lateral gene transfer may have occurred between thermophilic Eubacteria and Archaea. 1999 , May 12: /Lamarck's Signature: How Retrogenes Are Changing Darwin's Natural Selection Paradigm/. 1999 , April 1: A virus can shuttle gene sequences between bacteria and their animal hosts. James A. Lake, Ravi Jain and Maria C. Rivera, "Mix and Match in the Tree of Life," p 2027-2028 v 283, /Science/. 26 March 1999. 1999 , March 5: Three geneticists, examining evolution at the molecular level.... 1999 , March 3: Up to 1% of the human genome is represented by human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) and their fragments that are likely footprints of ancient primate germ-cell infections that occurred 10-60 million years ago. Roger W. Hendrix, Margaret C. M. Smith, R. Neil Burns, Michael E. Ford and Graham F. Hatfull. "Evolutionary relationships among diverse bacteriophages and prophages: All the world's a phage" [abstract ], p 2192-2197 v 96 n 5, /Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA/, 2 March, 1999. 1998 , December 11: The genome of a tiny worm contains many genes with no similarity to previously known genes. A "Fossil" Virus Involved In AIDS Drug Resistance? , /EurekAlert!/, 4 December 1998. 1998 , November 30: Biologists find evidence that a certain intron underwent cross-species horizontal transfer over 1,000 times during angiosperm evolution. Jumping genes are nature's casanovas , by Toby Murcott of BBC Science. November 24, 1998. Roald Ravatn, Sonja Studer, Alexander J. B. Zehnder and Jan Roelof van der Meer. "Int-B13, an Unusual Site-Specific Recombinase of the Bacteriophage P4 Integrase Family, Is Responsible for Chromosomal Insertion of the 105-Kilobase /clc/ Element of /Pseudomonas/ sp. Strain B13" [abstract ], p 5505-5514, v 180, n 21, /Journal of Bacteriology/, November 1998. 1998 , November 3: Two geneticists find evidence for "a predominating integration mechanism," that inserts acquired foreign genes into genomes in clustered fragments. 1998 , October 23: The genome of /Chlamidia trachomatis/ contains some 35 eukaryotic genes... 1998 , August 25: We owe the repertoire of our immune system to one transposon insertion, which occurred 450 million years ago in the ancestor of the jawed fishes. 1998 , August 12: The paradigm shifts toward lateral gene transfer as the primary driver of evolution. 1998 , July 28: Carl R. Woese says lateral gene transfer is more important than vertical inheritance at first. W. Ford Doolittle. "Patterns of phylogeny: symbiosis, chimaerism and gene transfer in the origin of eukaryotes," given at "Life: from Local Origins to Global Persistence," a NASA Astrobiology workshop at the University of New Hampshire, June 8-10, 1998. Jeffrey G. Lawrence. "Roles of Horizontal Genetic Transfer in Prokaryotic Evolution," given at "Life: from Local Origins to Global Persistence," a NASA Astrobiology workshop at the University of New Hampshire, June 8-10, 1998. Haig H. Kazazian, Jr. and John V. Moran. "The impact of L1 retrotransposons on the human genome" p 19-24 v 19, /Nature Genetics/, May 1998. 1998 , April 24: Versatile Gene Uptake System Found in Cholera Bacterium may capture many different types of genes. 1998 , March 26: The importance of horizontal gene transfer in evolution is becoming apparent to mainstream biologists. 1997 , December 19: Horizontal gene transfer is looking more important than ever as a driver of evolution. 1997 , November 23: The integration of genes from a non retroviral RNA virus into the DNA of eukaryotic cells has been demonstrated. Gavin D. Recchia and Ruth M. Hall. "Origins of the mobile gene cassettes found in integrons" [abstract ], p 389-394 v 5 n 10, /Trends in Microbiology/, 10 October 1997. Margaret G. Kidwell and Damon Lisch, "Transposable elements as sources of variation in animals and plants" [text ], p 7704-7711 v 94, /Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA/., July 1997. Wen-Hsiung Li. "Evolution by Transposition and Horizontal Transfer," p 335-377 (chapter 12), /Molecular Evolution/, Sinauer Associates, Inc., Publishers, 1997. Wolfgang J. Miller, John F. McDonald and Wilhelm Pinsker. "Molecular domestication of mobile elements" [abstract ], p 261-270 v 100, /Genetica/, 1997. References 1. <# 1txt> Lynn Margulis, /Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution/, Basic Books, 1998. p 64. 2. <# 2txt> Salvador E. Luria, /Virus Growth and Variation/, A. Isaacs and B.W. Lacey, eds., Cambridge University Press, 1959. p 1-10. 3. <# 3txt> Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan, /What Is Life?/ Simon and Schuster, 1995. p 73. 4. <# 4txt> Neil A. 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Varmus, eds., /Retroviruses/, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1997. p 346. 14. <# 14txt> Jon Cohen, "A New Role for HIV: A Vehicle For Moving Genes Into Cells" p 195 v 272, /Science/, 12 April 1996. 15. <# 14txt> Andrew Pollack, "Scientists Enlist H.I.V. to Fight Other Ills," /The New York Times/, 19 January 1999. 16. <# 16txt> Nigel Williams, "Gram-Positive Bacterium Sequenced," p 478 v 277, /Science/, 25 July 1997. 17. <# 17txt> John M. Coffin, Stephen H. Hughes and Harold E. Varmus, eds., /Retroviruses/, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1997. p 403. 18. <# 18txt> Jean-F. Tomb et al. (41 others), "The complete genome sequence of the gastric pathogen /Helicobacter pylori/" p 539-547 v 388, /Nature/, 7 August 1997. 19. <# 19txt> Frederico J. Gueiros-Filho and Stephen M. Beverley, "Trans-kingdom Transposition of the /Drosophila/ Element /mariner/ Within the Protozoan /Leishmania/," p 1716-1719 v 276, /Science/, 13 June 1997. 20. <# 20txt> Daniel L. Hartl, "/Mariner/ Sails into /Leishmania/," p 1659-1660 v 276, /Science/, 13 June 1997. 21. <# 21txt> Phil Williams, "Transposable Elements May Have Had A Major Role In The Evolution Of Higher Organisms ," EurekAlert!, 9 February 1998. 22. <# 22txt> James M. Fadool, Daniel L. Hartl and John E. Dowling. "Transposition of the /mariner/ element from /Drosophila mauritiana/ in zebrafish," p 5182-5186 v 95 n 9, /Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA/, 28 April 1998. 23. <# 23txt> John M. Coffin, Stephen H. Hughes and Harold E. Varmus, eds., /Retroviruses/, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1997. p 414. COSMIC ANCESTRY | Quick Guide | Next | by Brig Klyce | All Rights Reserved