Concept
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Created by Boundless
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Mechanisms of prokaryotic and eukaryotic horizontal gene transfer
Horizontal gene transfer is the introduction of genetic material from one species to another species by mechanisms other than the vertical transmission from parent(s) to offspring. These transfers allow even distantly-related species (using standard phylogeny) to share genes, influencing their phenotypes. Examples of mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer are listed for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
Source
Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:
"OpenStax College, Biology. November 5, 2013."
http://cnx.org/content/m44593/latest/?collection=col11448/latest
OpenStax CNX
CC BY 3.0.