Genetic Information Can Transfer from Plant to Plant
February 3, 2012| |
Scientist Ralph Bock from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology discovered that a transfer of entire chloroplasts or parts of their genomes can occur between plants that are in close proximity. The new chloroplast genome can even be handed down to the next generation and thus give plant new characteristics.
The transfer of genes without sexual reproduction is called horizontal gene transfer (HGT) which was believed to be exhibited only by prokaryotes. In the previous study of Bock and colleagues, they discovered that HGT was possible in plants of the same species. However, in their latest experiment, they discovered further that sexually incompatible species could also exhibit HGT.
"As of now, we do not know how chloroplasts manage to get from one cell to the other," said Bock. "But the decisive point is that it happens and the discovery of this process offers a new explanation for important evolutionary processes and opens up new possibilities for plant breeders."
Read the complete article at http://www-en.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/pdf/pm/PM-2012-01-31E.pdf.
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