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IMMUNE AND DIGESTIVE TRIGGERS. "​In “germ-free” asymbiotic mice, the development of the immune system and the digestive system cannot be completed without gut bacteria. Rather, these mice have insufficient intestinal capillaries, poorly developed or absent gut-associated lymphoid tissue, and a diminished T-cell repertoire that gives them an immunodeficiency syndrome."​ View in LinkedIn

MATE SELECTION. "Recent studies in Drosophila, for instance, demonstrate that the symbionts (not alleles of nuclear genes) provide important pheromonal cues necessary for mating preference."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn

LIGHT ORGAN TRIGGER. "The newborn of the squid Euprymna scolopes lacks a light organ, which is developed in cooperation between the squid and the luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fisheri) absorbed by its ventral epithelium. Without the bacteria, the organ does not develop."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn

HORIZONTAL TRANSFER. "There is also allelic variation in the human microbiome. The genes of Bacteroides plebeius differ in different human populations. The Japanese strain contains at least two genes (horizontally transferred from a marine relative) that enable the bacteria to metabolize complex sugars, such as those found in seaweeds."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend that touched on the concept of the individual and mosaicism. Division of labour is an old concept, but its threads can be seen at all levels in living things, from societies to genomes. Indeed, overlaid by the concept of outsourcing, vast biological efficiencies and expanded functionality can be achieved by the combination. View in LinkedIn

COSELECTION. "The microbial symbionts represent diverse genomes; and those genomes can also be coselected together with the genome of their host. In aphids, symbiotic bacteria provide selectable allelic variation (thermotolerance, color, parasitoid resistance) that enable some hosts to persist better under different environmental conditions."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn

DRIVERS OF NEW GENES. "Processes like exaptation of transposable elements, gene duplication, and horizontal gene transfer emerge as potential forces underlying the generation of orphan genes." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168952515000347 View in LinkedIn

VERTICAL SYMBIONTS. "Arthropods often acquire their symbionts vertically though the maternal germline as well as horizontally from the environment. Mammals obtain them through the maternal reproductive tract and from the mutual licking and grooming following birth."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn

NEW HYMN BOOK. "The one-genome/one-organism doctrine of classical genetics has been eclipsed by studies of hereditary symbiosis. Microbial symbionts form a second type of genetic inheritance."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn

MOSAIC PHYSIOLOGIES. "The common gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron induces angiogenin-4 gene expression in the intestinal Paneth cell. This protein functions to produce new blood vessels. But it is also a bacteriocidal factor against Listeria, the major competitor of Bacteroides and a gut pathogen. From these examples, we may conclude that on classical physiological grounds, animals are not individuals."​ https://lnkd.in/ddVyNR5 View in LinkedIn