What is the horizontal gene transfer?
virtually all organisms can spread genetic material by vertical transmission of genes in which genetic information is transmitted from parents to offspring. On the other hand, the process of horizontal gene transfer - or lateral gene transfer - is not common for all species. In this type of gene transfer, genetic material is transmitted to organisms that are not not parents and descendants. Instead, both organisms are usually unrelated and are often in different species.
Most eukaryotic organisms acquire genetic material mainly through the vertical transmission of genes, during which DNA is repombicated. On the other hand, it is assumed that the horizontal gene transmission is the most common way that unicellular organisms, especially bacteria, acquire new genetic material. This is important because the bacteria are reproduced without sexual recombation; Horizontal transmission therefore allows bacterial species to maintain diversity.
horizontal gene transfer in bacteria Je Ordinary. There are three ways that bacteria can horizontally replace genetic material. All three of them occur naturally and can also be carried out in the laboratory to genetically engineering bacteria with new properties, such as the ability to synthesize non -native proteins.
Transformation is a process in which bacteria receive naked DNA or RNA molecules and expresses them in a cell. In transduction, genetic material is transmitted by bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. Finally, bacterial conjugation occurs in which genetic material, often plasmids, transmitted by intercellular contact. Conjugation is mediated by transposons and plasmids, two types of genetic material that are different from and independent of the bacterial genome.
There is some evidence that viruses can also transmit genetic information through the horizontal gene transfer. One more vast IndiKators include viruses called mimivirus , mamavirus and sputnik . Oba mimivirus a mamavirus jsou známými hostiteli sputnik a malý počet genů je společný pro všechny tři druhy. It is assumed that Sputnik transferred genes between two host viruses at a certain point during the evolutionary history of these three organisms.
Some eukaryotes, including mushrooms, insects and plants, are also involved in the horizontal transmission of genes. One of the most famous examples is the horizontal genetic transmission between bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae , a type of yeast. Another example of genetic transmission between eukaryotes includes Azuki Bean Beans and Bacteria called wolbachia . In the world of plants, the parasites of plants called the rafflesiaceae genetic information to their hosts and the type of algae transferred the genetic material to the species of the sea slim, which prey to algae.