Argument over bacterial gene transfer to humans resolved
An alternative analysis of the human genome sequence information refutes the assertion that genes have been transferred directly from bacteria to man.
Jun 21, 2001
Claims that hundreds of bacterial genes have been transferred directly into humans are unfounded, according to a study published in June 21
Evolutionary geneticists were sceptical about the findings. They suspected this was technically unfeasible because horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a principal force in genetic evolution and therefore rarely occurs between vastly distant species like bacteria and vertebrates. The only explanation for this degree of bacteria-vertebrate HGT was that it occurred in the germ line, which suggested the worrying possibility that bacterial infection or exposure to genetically modified organisms could result in gene transfer.
But, Michael Stanhope, James Brown and colleagues at GlaxoSmithKline in Pennsylvania have...