Genes are transferred from one generation to the next (“vertically”). In higher organisms, this is (with or without sexuality) practically the only possibility for transfer. Therefore, the concept of descent and of the phylogenetic tree are unambiguous. Among primitive organisms, notably the bacteria, “horizontal” gene transfer between cells is also observed and it may have important consequences for phylogeny and taxonomy (Anderson, 1966; Richmond and Wiedeman, 1974; Sneath, 1974). It is quite a threat to the species concept among the bacteria.
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horizontal gene transferhorizontaler Gentransfer (ger.)
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the acquisition by an organism of genetic information by transfer, for example via the agency of a virus, from an organism that is not its parent and is typically a member of a different species. (Oxford Dict. of English 2010)
- 1975
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Broda, E. (1975). The Evolution of the Bioenergetic Processes: 12; cf. 11; 15.
- 1981
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these studies may be taken as a direct demonstration of the evolutionary advantage of recombination. Horizontal gene transfer combined with selection and asexual reproduction after transfer clearly could produce rapid adaptive change in the genetic structure of the populations
Graham, J. & Istock, C. (1981). Parasexuality and microevolution in experimental populations of Bacillus subtilis. Evolution 35, 954-963: 962.