Research
'Planimal' cells retain nearly entire algal genome after experimental cell fusion
Phys.org ·
The Brief
- Experimental cell fusion produced cells called 'planimal' cells.
- The reported result is that these cells retain nearly the entire algal genome.
Why it matters
The finding shows how much of a foreign genome a fused cell can keep, which bears on how genetic material is inherited across organism boundaries.
Who’s affected
- biologists studying cell fusion and genome inheritance
- #cell fusion
- #genome
- #algae
- #inheritance
- #evolution
Most DNA in an organism is inherited from its parent or parents. This form of genetic inheritance is referred to as vertical inheritance because genes are passed down from generation to generation.