What'sNEW
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has profoundly shaped eukaryotic organellar genomes like plant mitochondria. This phenomenon gets close inspection by a pair of geneticists at the University of Florida, using a newly developed analytical tool. Their writeup concentrates on the tool and its uses; they hope it will bring helpful new information to plant taxonomy, beyond what can be learned by more traditional methods.
They say that blocks of genetic programming, from ~50 to ~1,500 bp originated somewhere else, when what they observe is only that the blocks appear to have been first deployed somewhere else. And the complicated insertions, deletions and rearrangements following HGT (illustrated) are carefully diagrammed without much curiosity about how this happens. My summary observation is that the long reach of HGT continues to find excess corroboration — and the implications for evolution continue to go unnoticed.
 HGTScanner: Detecting horizontal gene transfer at the fine scale using whole organelle genomes, by Liming Cai and Rachel O. Cohen, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 11 Oct 2026.
DNA analysis uncovers first known genetic connection between rare New Caledonian plant and parasitic plant, by Kyle Bumpers, University of Florida via Phys.Org, 14 Oct 2026.
 Thanks, Google Alerts.
 Robust Software Management is our name for a system that rearranges transferred blocks of programming, with AI tools somewhat like grammar-, syntax-, spellcheck, defrag and more.
Worlds More Habitable Than Earth? They’re Out There. by Natalie Wolchover, The New York Times, 13 Oct 2026.
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