Researchers Find First Evidence of DNA Swapping Between Insects and Mammals

[Ian David]

Researchers Find First Evidence of DNA Swapping Between Insects and Mammals



Think all of your genetic material came straight down to you from further up your family tree? A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington doesn't think so. In a finding that shakes up the prevailing theory that mammals pass on genetic material vertically from parent to progeny, researchers have found hard evidence of horizontal DNA transfer -- swapping genetic material between non-mating species -- between some parasites and their vertebrate hosts.

In other words, mammals -- including humans -- could be carrying around DNA from parasitic insects, and that DNA could potentially be altering human evolution over the long term.

Specifically, the genome biologists found evidence of horizontal DNA transmission in a South American blood-sucking bug as well as a tiny species of pond snail. The genes that made the leap were transposons, segments of DNA that move around within the genome, bouncing around cells replicating and changing the amount of genetic material present. Transposons can cause mutations and changes to genome function in cells, which makes the idea of foreign transposons wandering around in our genomes all the more strange.

The transposons the researchers isolated were found in the parasitic triatomine bug were 98 percent identical to transposons found in opossums and squirrel monkeys that served as their hosts. If monkeys and opossums can horizontally receive transposons with bugs, then there's also a good chance humans might share some transposons with the bug, which regularly dines on human hosts.


The Triatomine Rhodnius prolixus Dr. Erwin Huebner, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

More:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-05/researchers-find-evidence-horizontal-dna-swapping-between-insects-and-mammals

[Duer 157099]

1. Why does Jeff Goldblum come to mind?

The fly, the fly!

[BrklynLiberal]

3. great minds... I guess

[BrklynLiberal]

2. hmmm Obviously they never saw "The Fly"

Sorry..could not resist...

[RC]

4. So that is how we got republicans.

"...horizontal DNA transmission in a South American blood-sucking bug..."

[xchrom]

5. Shudder. Nt

[NickB79]

6. OMG! Unnatural genetic engineering!

And it's been going on for millions of years! We must put a stop to it immediately.

[Odin2005]

7. IMPOSSIBLE! The anti-GMO nuts tell me this can't happen!

:sarcasm: