Abstract
The expansion of genome sequencing projects has produced accumulating evidence for lateral transfer of genes between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. However, it remains controversial whether these genes are of functional importance in their recipient host. Nikoh and Nakabachi, in a recent paper in BMC Biology, take a first step and show that two genes of bacterial origin are highly expressed in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Active gene expression of transferred genes is supported by three other recent studies. Future studies should reveal whether functional proteins are produced and whether and how these are targeted to the appropriate compartment. We argue that the transfer of genes between host and symbiont may occasionally be of great evolutionary importance, particularly in the evolution of the symbiotic interaction itself.
Highlights
Nikoh and Nakabachi [9] show that the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum seems to have acquired two genes from bacteria
BMC Biology 2009, 7:20 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/7/20 inserted copy a strong candidate for being functionally active, with the product targeted to the endosymbiont
Functionality is implied by the observation that the bacterial source is not currently present in the aphid – implying that the transfer is not recent – and pseudogenization would be expected in the absence of positive selection for function
Summary
Nikoh and Nakabachi [9] show that the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum seems to have acquired two genes from bacteria. There has been little evidence that the transferred copies of the genes are functional in the eukaryotic genome.
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