He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: Psalm 2:4
"Agricultural scientists have known about Agrobacterium for some time; the bacterial species infects many plants with its own genes
and causes them to emit certain chemicals.
Scientists have used “nature’s genetic engineer” to transport designed genes into plants for GMO foods. What the scientists didn’t know, this article says, is that Agrobacterium’s changes are heritable. One of the scientists sees a non-Darwinian mechanism at work:
CEH
"Agricultural scientists have known about Agrobacterium for some time; the bacterial species infects many plants with its own genes
Scientists have used “nature’s genetic engineer” to transport designed genes into plants for GMO foods. What the scientists didn’t know, this article says, is that Agrobacterium’s changes are heritable. One of the scientists sees a non-Darwinian mechanism at work:
Because the genes inserted into plants by Agrobacterium can produce big changes, Otten thinks this process could drive the evolution of new plant species. His research suggests that tobacco plants have been modified by Agrobacterium several times in the past few million years, and these events seem to have coincided with the emergence of new species.Like we saw with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sharing of existing genetic information may be a primary mechanism for adaptation. This contradict’s Darwin’s picture that selection of random variations caused all the diversity of life."
CEH