Journal
BIOESSAYS
Volume 39, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/bies.201700115
Keywords
lateral gene transfer; horizontal gene transfer; phylogenetic artefact; genome analysis; Lamarckian evolution
Categories
Funding
- ERC [666053]
- GIF [I-1321-203.12/2015]
- Volkswagen Stiftung (Life)
- European Research Council (ERC) [666053] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
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The realization that prokaryotes naturally and frequently disperse genes across steep taxonomic boundaries via lateral gene transfer (LGT) gave wings to the idea that eukaryotes might do the same. Eukaryotes do acquire genes from mitochondria and plastids and they do transfer genes during the process of secondary endosymbiosis, the spread of plastids via eukaryotic algal endosymbionts. From those observations it, however, does not follow that eukaryotes transfer genes either in the same ways as prokaryotes do, or to a quantitatively similar degree. An important illustration of the difference is that eukaryotes do not exhibit pangenomes, though prokaryotes do. Eukaryotes reveal no detectable cumulative effects of LGT, though prokaryotes do. A critical analysis suggests that something is deeply amiss with eukaryote LGT theories.
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