Where Bacteria Get Their Genes
Posted on May 7, 2005 Comments (7)
Where Bacteria Get Their Genes, from Science Daily:
The finding has important biomedical implications because such gene-swapping, or lateral gene transfer, is the way many pathogenic bacteria pick up antibiotic resistance or become more virulent.
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Most commonly, genes are transmitted by bacteriophages, viruses that specifically hijack bacteria cells. Like tiny syringes, phages inject their own genetic material into the host cell, forcing it to produce new phages. During such an event, genes from the bacterial genome can be incorporated into the newly made phages. They inject their newly modified genetic load into other bacteria. This way, bacteriophages act as shuttles, taking up DNA from one bacterium and dumping it into another. Bacteria can also make contact by tiny connection tubes through which they exchange pieces of DNA. They can also take up genetic material from the environment.
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7 Responses to “Where Bacteria Get Their Genes”
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November 10th, 2006 @ 9:56 am
The sea urchin represents the first sequenced genome from the echinoderms, which are the closest known relatives of the chordates, the group that includes vertebrates, animals with spinal columns. The genome includes analogs to many essential human genes that were previously thought to be exclusive to vertebrates…
November 25th, 2006 @ 4:31 pm
A wheat gene, now present but inactive, could boost nutrition if it were active…
December 12th, 2006 @ 7:30 pm
[…] “icro-robots that can ’swim’ through the vascular and digestive systems of the human body to perform medical tasks via remote control and, in many cases, avoid invasive major surgery, are being developed” […]
September 13th, 2007 @ 10:27 pm
“Scientists at the University of Rochester and the J. Craig Venter Institute have discovered a copy of the genome of a bacterial parasite residing inside the genome of its host species…”
November 25th, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
RNA editing is thought to be just one way that humans get more out of their 30,000 genes than, say, a fruit fly does with 13,600 or a roundworm does with 19,100…
December 15th, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
“He theorizes that the modification system might serve as either protection against foreign (unmodified) DNA, or as a “bookmark” to assist with transcription or replication of DNA…”
March 19th, 2009 @ 2:37 pm
[…] Us – Beneficial Bacteria – Energy Efficiency of Digestion – Large Number of Bacteria on our Skin – Where Bacteria Get Their Genes – Amazing Science: Retroviruses by curiouscat Tags: Antibiotics, Health Care, Life […]