Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
Published on: March 10, 2017
ENDOSYMBIOTIC AND HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER IN CHROMALVEOLATES(1)
Debashish Bhattacharya1, Tetyana Nosenko1
1Department of Biological Sciences and the Roy J. Carver Center for Comparative Genomics, University of Iowa, 446 Biology Building, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1324, USA.
Abstract:
Chromalveolates include photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic (some plastid-lacking) algae and protists that define a vast swath of eukaryotic diversity. These taxa are masters of gene acquisition through serial endosymbiosis (endosymbiotic gene transfer, EGT) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Understanding the contribution of these sources to nuclear genomes is key to elucidating chromalveolate evolution and to identifying suitable phylogenetic markers to place this lineage in the tree of life. Here we briefly review recent findings in our lab with regard to EGT and HGT in chromalveolates.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Export of Mitochondrial and Chloroplast Genes
Transduction
Evolution of Microbial Genome

