I’ve noticed a trend where a lot of Phylogenic Trees have Parasitic Plant Families placed all over in different positions from study to study.
In particular Cynomoriaceae.
I suspect this is because Parasitic plants move DNA around between Plant Families & Orders. Since by their parasitic nature, they can faciliate horizontal gene flow, occasionally incorporating some DNA from their hosts.
If this is what’s happening, then it would explain why they appear all over the place, the little DNA from other plant families inside Cynomoriaceae can mess up it’s position right?
Knowing this, is it possible to use Parasitic Plants to connect to distantly related plants in hopes that some genes transfer? Is this how we create Blue Tomatoes or Blue Watermelons? Lycianthes acuplensis, Solanum flaccidum & Persicaria perfoliata make blue fruit (The last 2 are edible, not sure about the first one).
Also, is this effectively creating a natural GMO? If Parasitic plants transfer DNA naturally, is it GMO or no?
Some plants of the Parasitic Plant Family Orobanchaceae are edible like Castilleja coccinea but are suspected to absorb toxins from host plants, especially Poisonous Non-Edible Plant Hosts. This is why You shouldn’t forage them growing next to poisonous plants.
Also how do GMO Plants appear on Phylogenic Trees? Are their positions all over the place just like with Parasytic Plants?
Generally, for most of parasitic plants, it’s not the horizontal gene transfer that causes the problem, but loss of genes commonly used for construction of gene phylogenies. This can now be avoided by using (partial) genome data, so it’s mostly stabilised.
Up until 2010s the main genes used were chloroplast genes, which have certain properties that make them easier to work with, however there are serious problems in using just those as they are inherited differently than nuclear genes.
And those are exactly the genes parasitic plants loose very fast during evolution.
For some extreme examples, horizontal gene transfer is a problem (Rafflesiaceae), since a large proportion of the genome is stolen from the host (usually Vitaceae).
In Cynomorum, both factors were a huge problem, yes.
The gene transfer goes only one way, from host to parasite, and if it does not provide any benefit for the parasite, it gets lost fast too, so I do not think this would be a good way to transfer genes.
Agrobacter can be used in a similar manner, and that works.
The question of is it GMO or not is dependend of what you consider GMO to be. In strictest sense, it is not, since there was no direct manipulation by humans with processes extremely unlikely to happen by themselves in nature. But if you hold selective breeding for GMO, the yes, they can be natural GMO
ah… that somewhat makes sense. Can the Phylogenic Trees still detect Horizontal Gene Transfer?
On Brassica Phylogenic Trees, I’ve seen Brassica juncea Grouped with B. rapa & B. oleracea but B. nigra was distant from them with many other genera between them.
This is odd since I know Brassica juncea is a B. rapa x B. nigra hybrid.
Same goes with Brassica carinata grouped with B. nigra even tho it contains B. oleracea generics cuz it’s a interspecies hybrid.
Ah ha… interesting. What makes nuclear genes different from chloroplast genes?
I see… does it makes sense to have Nautral GMO vs Artificial GMO? Or are those termsn nonsense & thus aren’t used?
