Solar-powered sea slugs defy evolution and horizontal gene transfer | The Institute for Creation Research

 
Solar-powered sea slugs defy evolution and horizontal gene transfer

In Journal of Creation 28 (2): 97-103, August 2014

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been proposed as the major explanation for the large number of genes shared among completely unrelated taxon that share no lineage-specific evolutionary trajectory in the schema of life. However, mechanisms to explain HGT between multicellular eukaryotic life are lacking. Initial reports of HGT in a defined biological relationship between the solar-powered sea slug E. chlorotica and its algal prey seemed to provide the key evidence for such a mechanism. However, new data from the germline sequencing of the slug’s genome via the use of eggs as a DNA source has shown that no algal DNA is present—definitively negating HGT in E. chlorotica. The explanation for the original data that seemed to support HGT is now believed to be that it is due to the presence of extra chromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNAs) excized from the algal genome. The nature of how these eccDNAs are formed and utilized in slug cells to help support the maintenance of its stolen algal chloroplasts remains to be deduced. This amazing phenomenon can only be explained within the context of a highly co-designed and biologically complex system inherent to the model of intelligent design.

Click here to read the full article text.

The Latest
NEWS
The Return of the Dire Wolf?
There’s been much recent excitement about the birth of three dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) puppies by a Dallas-based biotech company: Colossal Bioscience....

CREATION PODCAST
Cracks in the Layers: Lake Suigetsu and the Old Earth Illusion...
Welcome to the third episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...

NEWS
Fish Fossil Vomit
A rather unsavory news story recently appeared regarding fossilized vomit. Although it’s hardly dinner table conversation, it nonetheless supports...

NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...