Very few cases of natural DNA transfers between animals and plants are documented, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist, but recently his team did just that.
The research team found a group of DNA sequences in pine trees, spruces and other conifers had been transferred to an ancestor of those trees from insects about 340 million years ago.
Scientists called these conifer DNA sequences 'Dryads' after the Greek mythological nymphs that inhabit trees. Dryads are one of the many groups of DNA sequences known as DNA repeats or transposable elements, which are particularly good at making new copies of themselves. As a result, they ended up forming more than half of the genome in some species, including conifers and other plants.
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-scientists-document-rare-dna-animals.html
The research team found a group of DNA sequences in pine trees, spruces and other conifers had been transferred to an ancestor of those trees from insects about 340 million years ago.
Scientists called these conifer DNA sequences 'Dryads' after the Greek mythological nymphs that inhabit trees. Dryads are one of the many groups of DNA sequences known as DNA repeats or transposable elements, which are particularly good at making new copies of themselves. As a result, they ended up forming more than half of the genome in some species, including conifers and other plants.
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-scientists-document-rare-dna-animals.html