Name: This Insect Has Plant DNA in Its Genome
Brand: smithsonianmag.com
SKU: smithsonianmag-com-240
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

This Insect Has Plant DNA in Its Genome

preview

A small, aphid-like insect called a whitefly has plant DNA lurking in its genome—and it’s among the first known instances of gene transfer from plant to insect, reports Heidi Ledford for .The gene in question is no slouch either, as it appears to enable the insects to feed on plants loaded with natural toxins, according to the new study published last week in the journal . This fateful transference of genetic material occurred at least 35 million years ago and looks to be part of the genetic toolkit that make whiteflies such a formidable agricultural pest, reports Jonathan Lambert for .“Ten or 20 years ago no one thought that this kind of gene transfer was possible,” Roy Kirsch, a chemical ecologist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology who wasn’t involved in the study, tells Science News. “There are so many barriers a gene must overcome to move from a plant to an insect, but this study clearly shows that it happened, and that the gene provides a benefit to whiteflies.”How exactly the whitefly got plant DNA into its genome is still unknown, but the gene transfer event may have involved viruses, reports Donna Lu for . In this scenario, a virus going from whiteflies to plants or vice versa takes on some plant DNA. Then, when the virus infected the whitefly, the plant DNA spread and was eventually incorporated into the ’s genome.“[Some] viruses basically incorporate their own genome into the cells of their hosts,” Ted Turlings, an entomologist at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland and co-author of the study, tells New Scientist.“This is an extremely rare event, but when you’re talking about billions of insects and plants interacting over millions of years, it becomes more possible,” Turlings tells Science News. This type of gene transfer may in fact be “an important mechanism for pests to gain abilities to deal with plant defenses,” Turlings adds.Besides revealing a fascinating piece of biology, the findings may also help protect future crops from the sap-sucking whitefly, per Nature. Preliminary experiments suggest that turning the pilfered plant gene off makes the insects susceptible to plant toxins.“This exposes a mechanism through which we can tip the scales back in the plant’s favor,” Andrew Gloss, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Chicago who was not involved in the study, tells Nature. “It’s a remarkable example of how studying evolution can inform new approaches for applications like crop protection.”Recommended VideosPost a CommentMost Popular

A small, aphid-like insect called a whitefly has plant DNA lurking in its genome—and it’s among the first known instances of gene transfer from plant to insect, reports Heidi Ledford for .The gene in question is no slouch either, as it appears to enable the insects to feed on plants loaded with natural toxins, according to the new study published last week in the journal . This fateful transference of genetic material occurred at least 35 million years ago and looks to be part of the genetic toolkit that make whiteflies such a formidable agricultural pest, reports Jonathan Lambert for .“Ten...

public

Smithsonian Magazine

Alex Fox

Official Twitter feed for Smithsonian magazine. @replies may be reprinted in the magazine. Legal: http://si.edu/Termsofuse

smithsonianmag.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

This Insect Has Plant DNA in Its Genome

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS