Abstract Dawkins in his The Selfish Gene (1) quite aptly applies the term “selfish” to parasitic
repetitive DNA sequences endemic to eukaryotic genomes, especially vertebrates. Doolittle …

Background While eukaryotes primarily evolve by duplication-divergence expansion (and
reduction) of their own gene repertoire with only rare horizontal gene transfers, prokaryotes …

Gene-by-environment interactions play a crucial role in horizontal gene transfer by affecting
how the transferred genes alter host fitness. However, how the environment modulates the …

Abstract'Selfish genetic elements', such as transposons, homing endonucleases, meiotic
drive chromosomes and heritable microorganisms, are common features of eukaryotes …

Selfish genetic elements (historically also referred to as selfish genes, ultra-selfish genes,
selfish DNA, parasitic DNA, genomic outlaws) are genetic segments that can enhance their …

Horizontal gene transfer, in which genetic material is transferred from the genome of one
organism to that of another, has been investigated in microbial species mainly through …

Natural selection operating within genomes will inevitably result in the appearance of DNAs
with no phenotypic expression whose only 'function'is survival within genomes. Prokaryotic …

Publisher Summary The important role of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in the spread of
antibiotic resistance, the formation of pathogenicity islands, and selfish genes has long been …

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the movement of genetic material from one species to
another, is a common phenomenon in prokaryotic evolution. Although the rate of HGT is …

Almost all cellular life forms are hosts to diverse genetic parasites with various levels of
autonomy including plasmids, transposons and viruses. Theoretical modeling of the …