This month's Genome Watch reviews a series of recent papers that describes horizontal gene transfer from microorganisms to nematodes.
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References
Richards, T. A. et al. Horizontal gene transfer facilitated the evolution of plant parasitic mechanisms in the oomycetes. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 108, 15258–15263 (2011).
Kikuchi, T. et al. Genomic insights into the origin of parasitism in the emerging plant pathogen Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. PLoS Pathog. 7, e1002219 (2011).
Dieterich, C. et al. The Pristionchus pacificus genome provides a unique perspective on nematode lifestyle and parasitism. Nature Genet. 40, 1193–1198 (2008).
Abad, P. et al. Genome sequence of the metazoan plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita. Nature Biotech. 26, 909–915 (2008).
Mayer, W., et al. Horizontal gene transfer of microbial cellulases into nematode genomes is associated with functional assimilation and gene turnover. BMC Evol. Biol. 11, 13 (2011).
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Zarowiecki, M. Animals learn new tricks from microorganisms. Nat Rev Microbiol 9, 836 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2694
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2694
