Can Electricity From Electric Eels Transfer Genetic Material to Other Animals?

     The Electric eel is named to be the biggest power-producing creature on Earth. These eels can release up to 860 volts. A research team from Nagoya University located In Japan found that electric eels can release enough electricity to genetically modify small fish larvae nearby in the area the electricity is dispersed. They were able to add on to what we already know about electroporation, which is a gene delivery technique. Electroporation allows to create temporary pores in a cell membrane which allows DNA or proteins enter the target cell. The research team had the thought id the electricity flows in a river, it would affect the cells of nearby organisms. To test this hypothesis, they exposed young fish in their labs to a DNA solution with a marker that would glow in the light to see if the fish (zebra fish) had taken the DNA. They introduce the eel that will discharge their electricity when it's bites a feeder fish, and from this they are able to see if that DNA goes to the zebra fish. 

    The experiment shows that 5% of the larvae had markers indicating gene transfer took affect. This indicates that the discharge from the eel promoted gene transfer. Many other studies have observed similar phenomenon's that involve naturally occurring fields such as lightning, affecting nematodes and soil bacteria. 

Sources:

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-discovery-electricity-electric-eels-genetic.html

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/electric-eel

Blocking antibiotic resistance

In the article titled, "Antibiotic resistance: researchers succeed to block genes of resistance," researchers explain that the plasmids bacteria carry may have coded for the resistance to antibiotics.  Researchers were able to discover the exact binding site for the molecules and insert a stronger molecular to bind instead.  By doing so the molecules for antibiotic resistance were not transferred with the plasmid.  The molecule being inhibited is known as TraE, being the gene known to produce an resistance to antibiotics.  This article was interesting because I know any time somebody has taken antibiotics the bottle always says to take all of the pills regardless to be sure all the harmful bacteria are killed, otherwise some will be left and will develop resistance.  Seeing that something is being discovered to hopefully slow down this process is a relief.

Natural Genetic Engineering In Plants

A follow-up study to a 2004 investigation on ferns shows that over millions of years, there has been a completely natural gene transfer between plant species, something that is usually artificially done. In this case, scientist Fay-Wei Li has discovered that since the evolutionary explosion of ferns roughly 100 million years ago, ferns have picked up a light-sensitive protein from the primitive hornwort plant. This protein, known as neochrome, allows for more sensitive light absorption, which means that plants carrying it can thrive even on dim forest floors. Dr. Li searched for any gene related to neochrome in fern species, but could not find one. However, the protein-coding gene was abundant in hornworts, which are only distantly related to ferns. Dr. Li hypothesized that ferns picked up the gene by growing in extremely intimate contact with hornworts, which fits a growing trend found by botanists in recent years. The results seem to be convincing, and Dr. li hopes this study will prompt other geneticists to search for more cases of gene transfer.

Though I'm not big on plants, I find the idea of gene transfer interesting. As Dr. Li's colleague Dr. Jeffrey Palmer states, "It's like swapping out one part of a machine for another part made in another country." If this process occurs naturally on a frequent basis, it could definitely help solidify and tweak the artificial process occurring in the lab. I think it's a cool example of co-evolution when two species can exchange genes for mutual adaptation. 

Here is the original article.

Here is an article explaining the artificial process in genetically-modified crops. 

Jumping Genes Defy the Tree of Life

Darwin's "tree of life" metaphor for the process of evolution has been has been challenged by Antonis Rokas and Jason Slots' discovery of a jumping gene cluster in this article. Although it was previously thought that genes were passed from parent to child, known as vertical gene transfer, Rokas and Slot found a cluster of 23 genes that have moved from one species of fungus to another. Horizontal gene transfer had previously been seen in bacteria with very rare exceptions in complex organisms such as fungi and animals. This jumping gene cluster codes for a toxic compound called sterigmatocystin. Revealing this transfer has brought up new ideas about evolutionary paths and the changing of individual species. Many horizontal gene transfers have resulted in drug-resistant bacteria. Methods for surviving a drug are able to be passed to one another. This discovery has lead to more research into past evolutionary pathways as well as current evolving species.