First known plant gene naturally transferred into insects

Photo Credit: Laura Boykin

A team of international scientists discovered a whitefly species, that has incorporated plant DNA into its genome to protect it from leaf toxins. It is the first known example of horizontal gene transfer between a plant and insect in which the transferred gene performs a specific function. The gene transfer occurred between 35 million and 80 million years ago and most likely involved a virus. Searching a public database, researchers discovered that the white fly genome harboured a plant-specific and horizontally transferred gene, BtPMaT1, encoding for a phenolic glucoside malonyltransferase that enables whiteflies to neutralise toxic plant-based glucosides. Although this sounds like a well written scenario for the next Black mirror episode, their findings are groundbreaking as they reveal a novel mechanism whereby herbivores “steal” a part of the genetic code of their host plants to develop resistance to plant toxins. This will not only inspire the science fiction industry, but also help entrepreneurs to development the next generation of resilient crop protection solutions. 

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00164-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867421001641%3Fshowall%3Dtrue