title: Horizontal gene transfer in the innovation and adaptation of land plants.
abstract: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been well documented in prokaryotes and unicellular eukaryotes, but its role in plants and animals remains elusive. In a recent study, we showed that at least 57 families of nuclear genes in the moss Physcomitrella patens were acquired from prokaryotes, fungi or viruses and that HGT played a critical role in plant colonization of land. In this paper, we categorize all acquired genes based on their putative functions and biological processes, and further address the importance of HGT in plant innovation and evolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology; East Carolina University; Greenville, NC USA; Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Science; Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Jipei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jinling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D019068:Bryopsida / Q000235:genetics; D019669:Embryophyta / Q000235:genetics*; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000235:genetics*; D017343:Genes, Plant
keywords: adaptation; gene acquisition; land plants; plant evolution