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Author(s) -
Kurland Charles G
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1093/embo-reports/kvd042
Subject(s) - horizontal gene transfer , pessimism , gene transfer , biology , history , genealogy , genome , library science , genetics , gene , philosophy , epistemology , computer science
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a sensational topic largely because its exploitation to date has been primarily journalistic. Properly packaged it captures the attention of a sensitized lay public and peps up circulation. HGT provides technical challenges for academic scientists as well as market analysts. For fans of science fiction as well as for environmental pessimists, HGT is the stuff of doomsday prophecies. Interest in HGT might even be seen as a reasonable response to the recent acquisition of genome sequence data and the need to understand how genomes exchange sequences.