Detection of horizontal DNA transfer

American scientists at the University of Texas have found the first solid evidence of horizontal DNA transfer, a genetic shift between non-mating species, and between parasitic invertebrates. with their host.

In the study, published in Nature, geneticist Cedric Feschotte and colleagues discovered a transient transfer of genetic material (transporon) from a blood-sucking bug in South America. and the parasite host is a snail.

Transporon is a piece of DNA that can replicate and move around different parts of the genome. Transporon can cause genetic changes, change the amount of DNA in the cell and affect the structure and function of the genomes they reside.

Scientist Feschotte said that because these beetles often live on human parasites, it is possible that beetles and humans exchanged DNA through the mechanisms we discovered.

According to the researchers, the triatomine blood-sucking bug, which often causes Chagas disease, is transmitted by borer larvae to their parasite host. This species shares DNA genetic material with some host animals such as an opossum or squirrel monkey. Transporons found in these insects are up to 98% similar to transporons in mammalian hosts.

The long-held hypothesis is that mammals receive genes vertically or genetically from parent to child. Bacteria can receive genes both vertically and horizontally, and move from one unrelated individual to another or even switch between different species.

Such gene transfers are very common in bacteria and are necessary for quick adaptation to physiological and environmental challenges, such as exposure to antibodies.