Exogenote
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An exogenote is a piece of DNA introduced into a recipient cell from an external organism, utilized in the reproduction of prokaryotes.[1] Exogenotes are homologous to an endogenote, which is the recipient cell's own chromosome, and form a merozygote upon the completion of reproduction.[1] To reproduce asexually, prokaryotic organisms release genetic material into their environment, either by lysis, direct contact, or a nonlethal virus, and then utilized by various methods of horizontal gene transfer.[2] This exogenous genetic material is then taken up by the recipient cell and integrated into the genome.[2]
Exogenotes were first discovered in a 1928 study by bacteriologist Fredrick Griffith, who observed the ability for bacterial reproduction despite cell death in the species Streptococcus pneumoniae.[3][2] Later research in 1944 by physician Oswald Avery and geneticists Colin Munro MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty discovered that the transformative factor responsible for this reproduction was DNA that had originated from outside of the receiving cell.[2] The idea of merozygotes and their components was proposed by William Hayes in the 1952, who claimed and proved that bacterial conjugation was not a mutual exchange, but rather a donation of DNA.[4] This principle was further developed by Élie Wollman and François Jacob in 1956 to determine when donor genes manifested in recipient cells.[4]
