Abstract
One of the main conclusions presented by the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium is that “hundreds of genes appear to have resulted from horizontal gene transfer from bacteria at some point in the vertebrate lineage”1. We noticed that a significant proportion of these human genes have closely related orthologues in the primitive eukaryote Dictyostelium. This observation supports independent gene loss in multiple lineages (worm, fly, yeast, plants) rather than horizontal gene transfer from bacteria.
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References
International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium. Nature 409, 860–921 (2001).
Roelofs, J. et al. Biochem. J. 354, 697–706 (2001).
Baldauf, S. L. et al. Science 290, 972–977 (2000).
Kay, R. R. & Williams, J. G. Trends Genet. 15, 294–297 (1999).
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Roelofs, J., Van Haastert, P. Genes lost during evolution. Nature 411, 1013–1014 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35082627
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35082627
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