Summary
Presented here is an assessment on the putative biohazard of spontaneous horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in plants. Suggestions for spontaneous HGT between sexually incompatible plant species and between plants and microorganisms are numerous. The novel argument is sequence homology, but this argument is known to be invalid or at least inadequate. Only one case was found for HGT from a bacterium to a plant. This most probably took place in the evolutionary past. None of the supposed HGT cases brought forward up to the end of 1992 include the description of a mechanism by which a DNA fragment is detached from one genome, passed at least one membrane, and is inserted into another plant genome. Spontaneous HGT to plants with subsequent vertical (trans) gene transfer through normal seed set cannot be totally excluded, however, the literature up to 1993 does not provide any scientifically valid indication that such an HGT should be considered as a realistic biohazard.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ambrosini M., L.R.Ceci, S.Fiorella & R.Gallerani, 1992. Comparison of regions coding for tRNAHis genes of mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA in sunflower: a proposal concerning the classification of ‘CP-like’ tRNA genes. Plant Mol. Biol. 20: 1–4.
Appleby, C.A., 1985. Plant hemoglobin properties, function, and genetic origin. In: P.W. Ludden & J.E. Burris (Eds) Nitrogen fixation and CO2 metabolism, pp. 41–51. Elsevier Science Publishing Co. Inc.
Ayliffe M.A. & J.N.Timmis, 1992. Plastid DNA sequence homologies in the tobacco nuclear genome. Mol. Gen. Genet. 236: 105–112.
Bork P. & R.F.Doolittle, 1992. Proposed acquisition of an animal protein domain by bacteria. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 8990–8994.
Bryngelsson T., M.Gustafsson, B.Gréen & C.Lind, 1988. Uptake of host DNA by the parasitic fungus Plasmodiophora brassicae. Physiol. Mol. Plant Pathol. 33: 163–171.
Carlson T.A. & B.K.Chelm, 1986. Apparent eukaryotic origin of glutamine synthetase II from the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Nature 322: 568–570.
Chilton M.-D., M.H.Drummond, D.J.Merlo, D.Sciaky, A.L.Montoya, M.P.Gordon & E.W.Nester, 1977. Stable incorporation of plasmid DNA into higher plant cells: the molecular basis of crown gall tumorigenesis. Cell 11: 263–271.
Covello P.S. & M.W.Gray, 1992. Silent mitochondrial and active nuclear genes for subunit 2 of cytochrome c oxidase (cox2) in soybean: evidence for RNA-mediated gene transfer. EMBO J. 11(11): 3815–3520.
Doolittle R.F., D.-F.Feng, M.S.Johnson & M.A.McClure, 1989. Origins and evolutionary relationships of retroviruses. Q. Rev. Biol. 64(1): 1–30.
Doolittle R.F., D.-F.Feng, K.L.Anderson & M.R.Alberro, 1990. A naturally occurring horizontal gene transfer from an eukaryote to a prokaryote. J. Mol. Evol. 31(5): 383–388.
Dorit R.L., L.Schoenbach & W.Gilbert, 1990. How big is the universe of exons? Science 250: 1377–1383.
Dumbacher J.P., B.M.Beehler, T.F.Spande, H.M.Garraffo & J.W.Daly, 1992. Homobatrachotoxin in the genus Pitohui: chemical defence in birds? Science 258: 799–801.
Erempalli D., D.Patton, L.Castle, L.Mickelson, K.Hansen, J.Schnall, K.Feldmann & D.Meinke, 1991. Embryonic lethals and T-DNA insertional mutagenesis in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 3: 149–157.
Froman B.E., R.C.Tait & L.D.Gottlieb, 1989. Isolation and characterization of the phosphoglucose isomerase gene from Escherichia coli. Mol. Gen. Genet. 217: 126–131.
Fry J.C. & M.J.Day, 1992. Release of genetically engineered & other micro-organisms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Furner I.J., G.A.Huffman, R.M.Amasino, D.J.Garfinkel, M.P.Gordon & E.W.Nester, 1986. An Agrobacterium transformation in the evolution of the genus Nicotiana. Nature 319: 422–427.
Hooykaas P.J.J. & R.Schilperoort, 1992. Agrobacterium and plant engineering. Plant Mol. Biol. 19: 15–38.
Kidwell M.G., 1992. Horizontal transfer of P elements and other short inverted repeat transposons. Genetica 86: 275–286.
Lamboy W.F., 1984. Evolution of flowering plants by fungus-to-host horizontal gene transfer. Evol. Theory 7: 45–51.
Langridge J., 1991. Molecular genetics and comparative evolution. Research Studies Press. Taunton, Somerset, England.
March J.J. & H.G.Lebherz, 1992. Fructose-biphosphate aldolases: an evolutionary history. TIBS 17: 110–113.
Margulis L., 1970. Origin of eukaryotic cells, Yale University Press, New Haven & London.
McClintock B., 1951. Chromosome organisation and genetic expression. Cold Spr. Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 16: 13–47.
Miyamoto M.M. & J.Cracraft, 1991. Phylogenetic inference, DNA sequence analysis, and the future of molecular systematics. In: M.M.Miyamoto & J.Cracraft (Eds) Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, pp. 3–17. Oxford University Press, oxford, New York.
Nomiyama H., M.Fukuda, T.Wakasugi, T.Tsuzuki & K.Shimada, 1985. Molecular structures of mitochondrial-like sequences in human nuclear DNA. NAR 13: 1649–1658.
Otten L., J.Canaday, J.-C.Gérard, P.Fournier, P.Crouzet & F.Paulus, 1992. Evolution of agrobacteria and their Ti-plasmids—a review. Mol. Plant-Microbe Int. 5(4): 279–287.
Peñalva M.A., A.Moya, J.Dopazo & D.Ramóon, 1990. Sequences of isopenicillin N synthetase genes suggest horizontal gene transfer from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 241: 164–169.
Pirozynski K.A., 1988. Coevolution by horizontal gene transfer: A speculation on the role of fungi. In: K.A.Pirozynski & D.L.Hawksworth (Eds) Coevolution of fungi with plants and animals, pp. 247–268. Academic Press Ltd., London.
Prins, T.W. & J.C. Zadoks, 1993. Horizontal gene transfer in plants, a literature review. NRLO publication series 93/15.
Salin M.L. & S.M.Bridges, 1980. Isolation and characterization of iron-containing superoxide dismutase from an eukaryote, Brassica campestris. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 201: 369–474.
Scott A., 1985. Messages in evolution. New Scientist 25(7): 30–31.
Sherman D.R., A.P.Kloek, B.Rajendra Krishnan, B.Guinn & D.E.Goldberg, 1992. Ascaris hemoglobin gene: Plant-like structures reflects the ancestral globin gene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 11696–11700.
Shuster W. & A.Brennicke, 1987. Plastid DNA in the mitochondrial genome of Oenothera: intra-and interorganellar rearrangements involving part of the ribosomal cistron. Mol. Gen. Genet. 210: 44–51.
Smith M.W. & R.F.Doolittle, 1992. A comparison of evolutionary rates of the two major kinds of superoxide dismutase. J. Mol. Evol. 34: 175–184.
White F.F., D.J.Garfinkel, G.A.Huffman, M.P.Gordon & E.W.Nester, 1983. Sequences homologous to Agrobacterium rhizogenes T-DNA in the genomes of uninfected plants. Nature 301: 348–350.
Xiong Y. & T.H.Eickbush, 1990. Origin and evolution of retroelements based upon their transcriptase sequences. EMBO J 9(10)L: 3353–3362.
Zambryski P., J.Tempe & J.Shell, 1989. Transfer and function of T-DNA genes from Agrobacterium Ti and Ri plasmids in plants. Cell 56: 193–201.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Prins, T.W., Zadoks, J.C. Horizontal gene transfer in plants, a biohazard? Outcome of a literature review. Euphytica 76, 133–138 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024031
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024031