And despite new instances of HGT being discovered across all branches of life over the years, the mechanisms responsible for these transfers have largely remained unknown. Examples such as this raise the question: how can genes “jump” between completely different species? This rare phenomenon, known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT), has puzzled evolutionary biologists for a long time. However, over a decade ago, scientists were astounded to discover that herrings and smelts-two completely different species-have the exact same antifreeze protein encoded in their genomes, indicating a gene transfer between them. One such adaptive strategy is the evolution of genes that produce antifreeze proteins.

The scientists predict that Mavericks and analogous elements could mediate HGT in a broader pool of animal lineages including vertebrates.įish living in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans have evolved ingenious strategies to prevent their blood and tissues from freezing in the inhospitable polar waters.

They demonstrate that Mavericks are responsible for an event of HGT between two worm species whose genomes are as divergent as those of humans and fish.

Now, researchers from Alejandro Burga’s lab at IMBA uncover one of the long-sought vectors of HGT in nematodes: the ancient virus-like transposons called Mavericks.

Yet, scientists could not explain how it happens. The transfer of genetic information across species, called horizontal gene transfer (HGT), is an obscure phenomenon reported in eukaryotes, including some vertebrate species.The findings, published on June 29 in Science, could lead to the discovery of further vectors of HGT in eukaryotes and might find applications in pathogen control. Now, researchers from Alejandro Burga’s lab at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences identify a vector of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in worms. However, the mechanism of how such an unlikely event occurs remained unknown. Scientists have known for decades that genes can be transferred from one species to another, both in animals and plants. Image: A Maverick virus-like particle as a vector of horizontal gene transfer (HGT).

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