A tenth of quirky creature's active genes are foreign: Believed to 'ingest' DNA from other simple organisms
Thursday, November 15, 2012 - 20:00
in Biology & Nature
Up to ten percent of the active genes of an organism that has survived 80 million years without sex are foreign, a new study reveals. The asexual organism, the bdelloid rotifer, has acquired a tenth of its active genes from bacteria and other simple organisms like fungi and algae.