Whiteflies have acquired dozens of genes from vegetation they eat
A serious crop pest has 50 genes that seem to originate from vegetation, and it'd use them to detoxify vegetation’ chemical defences
Silverleaf whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) Nigel Cattlin / Alamy
Whiteflies seem to have taken the saying “you might be what you eat” considerably actually. New analysis suggests the tiny, herbivorous bugs have integrated dozens of genes from vegetation into their very own genome.
This quantity of genes leaping from plant to animal far exceeds what was beforehand recognized in bugs, and will result in new methods to regulate this main pest of fruit and vegetable crops.
When DNA is handed between separate branches on the tree of life, it's known as horizontal gene switch. It's primarily recognized …
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