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 Origin of Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes are multicellular organisms that contain diverse differentiated cell types. Within almost every cell there are subcellular compartments called...

CREATION PODCAST
Water vs. Wind: The Controversial Coconino | The Creation Podcast:...
Welcome to the sixth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Fossil Fish Finally Filmed
The bizarre lobe-finned coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) “that flourished some 350 million years ago”1 continues to be a thorn...

NEWS
The Mosasaur: A Giant Sea Dragon
Mosasaurs (order Squamata) were massive marine lizards that were common in the pre-Flood oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fossils...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2025
...

NEWS
Was Life Detected on a Distant Planet?
There was celebration, albeit briefly, for the discovery of potential life on a planet called K2-18b, which is 124 lightyears away from Earth. The...

NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...

CREATION PODCAST
What Do We Do With Geology's Unconforming Features? | The Creation...
Welcome to the fifth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...