Encyclopedia of Cancer

2011 Edition
| Editors: Manfred Schwab

Horizontal Gene Transfer

Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2808

Synonyms

 HGT

Definition

In this process, an organism transfers its genetic material to another cell that is not its offspring. The horizontal transfer of genetic material was originally detected in prokaryotes, but recent data show that it occurs not only in unicellular but also in multicellular eukaryotes and might be an important evolutionary mechanism.

 Circulating Nucleic Acids

Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011