bessiere at imag.fr (Pierre Bessiere) writes:
>Hi,
>I am a computer scientist working on Genetic Algorithms.
>I have some (candid) questions to ask about the real staff (real evolution):
>3 - what mechanisms do exist, for species with no sexual reproduction, to
>exchange genetic information between individuals?
Some examples:
1. Information transfer via plasmids -- many bacteria can
pick up plasmids (circular DNAs) from their environment.
This is often a mechanism for spreading antibiotic resistance.
2. Information transfer via random DNA
Some bacteria will grab any DNA from their environment.
Also, this may be a mechanism for the transfer
of genes from a symbiont to its host (as in the
evolution of chloroplasts and mitochondria).
3. Information transfer via viruses
Some viruses can pick up chunks of their host's genome
and then leave it behind in another host down the line.
>Thanks in advance for your answers.
Keith Robison
Harvard University
Program in Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
robison at ribo.harvard.edu
