Microbes can share genes fairly easily, throwing them around willy-nilly. It appears that similar can happen for multicellular creatures too, due to ambitious genes that are almost viral in their quest for propagation.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1084966#sciencenews #selfishgenes
‘Selfish’ genes called introners proven to be a major source of genetic complexity
A new study proves that a type of genetic element called “introners” are the mechanism by which many introns spread within and between species, also providing evidence of eight instances in which introners have transferred between unrelated species in a process called “horizontal gene transfer,” the first proven examples of this phenomenon.
Book review – Selfish Genes to Social Beings: A Cooperative History of Life
Selfish Genes to Social Beings relies on a potent combination of human-interest stories, wit, and ingenious metaphors to convince you that cooperation is an important component driving evolution.
How the selfish genes of yeast succeed
New findings from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research uncover critical insights about how a dangerous selfish gene—considered to be a parasitic portion of DNA—functions and survives. Understanding this dynamic is a valuable resource for the broader community studying meiotic drive systems.
Discovery of 119-million-year-old selfish genes in yeast illustrates how parasitic DNA impacts genome evolution
Meiotic drivers are a type of selfish gene. Present in the genomes of nearly all species, including humans, they unfairly transfer their genetic material to more than half of their offspring, sometimes leading to infertility, and decreased organism health. Because of their parasitic potential, their longevity over evolutionary time was believed to be short-lived, until now.
Matilda's Lab
Steve Dustcircle 🌹
Phys.org