Living without Sex for 85 Million Years
Bdelloid rotifers are tiny transparent animals that live in damp places. They reproduce asexually by laying eggs that don’t need to be fertilized. They are not the only animal that needs no males to reproduce, but they are more successful than others, having evolved into 450 species, which perplexed scientists.
It now looks as though the bdelloids do acquire new genes from time to time — that mutation isn’t their only source of genetic novelty. Yet their means of getting new genes is unlike anything previously known for an animal. Namely: they seem to pick up genes from the environment, and add them into their genomes.
The latest analysis of bdelloid genomes shows that the animals don’t just have rotifer genes. They also have dozens of genes from bacteria, fungi, and plants.
Now that’s weird. This puts the microscopic creatures in a league with human scientists who are just now learning to genetically modify animals! Link -via Digg
(image credit: William Dembowski)
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