Bacteria Genes Gave Ancient Plants Traits to Colonize Land
Published:03 Mar.2022 Source:Cell Press
Genes jumping from microbes to green algae hundreds of millions of years ago might have driven the evolution of land plants, researchers report March 1 in the journal Molecular Plant. Their analysis reveals that hundreds of genes from bacteria, fungi, and viruses have been integrated into plants, giving them desirable traits for a terrestrial life.
"Our study changes the conventional view on land-plant evolution," says senior author Jinling Huang, a biologist at East Carolina University. "I have suspected that horizontal gene transfer helped plants to move from water to land, but we didn't know how big of a role it played until now."