TY - JOUR
T1 - Microbial genes in the human genome
T2 - Lateral transfer or gene loss?
AU - Salzberg, S. L.
AU - White, O.
AU - Peterson, J.
AU - Eisen, J. A.
PY - 2001/6/8
Y1 - 2001/6/8
N2 - The human genome was analyzed for evidence that genes had been laterally transferred into the genome from prokaryotic organisms. Protein sequence comparisons of the proteomes of human, fruit fly, nematode worm, yeast, mustard weed, eukaryotic parasites, and all completed prokaryote genomes were performed, and all genes shared between human and each of the other groups of organisms were collected. About 40 genes were found to be exclusively shared by humans and bacteria and are candidate examples of horizontal transfer from bacteria to vertebrates. Gene loss combined with sample size effects and evolutionary rate variation provide an alternative, more biologically plausible explanation.
AB - The human genome was analyzed for evidence that genes had been laterally transferred into the genome from prokaryotic organisms. Protein sequence comparisons of the proteomes of human, fruit fly, nematode worm, yeast, mustard weed, eukaryotic parasites, and all completed prokaryote genomes were performed, and all genes shared between human and each of the other groups of organisms were collected. About 40 genes were found to be exclusively shared by humans and bacteria and are candidate examples of horizontal transfer from bacteria to vertebrates. Gene loss combined with sample size effects and evolutionary rate variation provide an alternative, more biologically plausible explanation.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.1061036
DO - 10.1126/science.1061036
M3 - Article
C2 - 11358996
AN - SCOPUS:0035827328
VL - 292
SP - 1903
EP - 1906
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5523
ER -