BovB Gene takes a genetic hop !

[Deathbird]

An interesting article from Genomics asks the big questions. “What would a frog do if it had the instinct to stalk through the marsh?”

Not exactly that question, but mayhap you would be curious to know about the genetic hop. For instance, bacteria, providing ample means to horizontally transfer a gene from species to species is quite fascinating. In fact, I wonder sometimes about Lamarckianism. Malarkey, or is it … ?
Here are some quotes from the article I found riveting.

Sprinkled through the genomes of the frogs is a gene, BovB, that seemingly came from snakes.

But in Madagascar it has inserted itself into frogs with startling promiscuity: 91% of the frog species sampled there have it.

When Genes Wander​

Horizontal transfer is commonplace in bacteria. The teeming single-celled organisms that populate nearly every cranny on the planet pick up genes from their environment as easily as a lint brush picks up cat hair. That’s one reason why bacterial resistance to antibiotics is widespread: Protective genes are passed around easily, and natural selection ensures that the resistant bacteria outcompete their neighbors and pass their genes on to the next generation.

Libk to article is here:

How Genes Can Leap From Snakes to Frogs | Quanta Magazine

The discovery of a hot spot for horizontal gene transfer draws attention to the possible roles of parasites and ecology in such changes.

www.quantamagazine.org