Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms have developed genetic mechanisms by which they can evolve to adapt to and meet the challenges thrown at them by a changing environment. One process by which ...

The movement or acquisition of genetic material between organisms that is not the result of vertical inheritance (reproduction) is called horizontal (or lateral) gene transfer. Horizontal gene ...

Using models of vertical inheritance and horizontal transfer, they found that low doses of tetracycline, ampicillin, kanamycin, and streptomycin stabilize resistance and promote gene transfer across ...

Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is ...

Claims that hundreds of bacterial genes have been transferred directly into humans are unfounded, according to a study published in June 21 Nature. The initial report by the International Human Genome ...

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems. Now an interdisciplinary ...

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have analyzed the evolutionary development of symbiotic bacteria in the intestines of termites with regard to ...

Not only humans or ruminating cattle have myriads of microbes living in their intestines. The intestines of many termite species, which feed on the decomposition of hard-to-digest wood components, are ...