Some Archaea were found to have integrons, allowing cross-domain gene transfer
Some Archaea have integrons, according to evidence found by a team of researchers and the group describes how they developed technique called metagenomic-assembled genomes (MAG) to study the genomes of Archaea samples
Life on Earth is divided into three different parts. Members of the third domain, Archaea, are referred to as Archaebacteria. Archaea are single-celled, but they rely on lipids in their cell membranes.
the researchers were looking into the ways in which bacteria swap genes and wondered if it was possible that they have integrons, that is, gene capture and dissemination systems.
they used a technique called Mag that allows for searching for single gene and gene recombination sites called AttC that sequence for coding the integron integrase
The structure of the integrons found in Bacteria suggested the use of cassettes, as all of them had the same structure.
the Archaea should be able to swap genes with Bacteria and vice-versa, as easily as Bacteria swap genes among themselves.
their idea was correct, they synthesized AttC from an Archaea specimen and exposed it to an E. coli specimen.cassettes had been created allowing gene swapping to occur.
Archaea are bacteria-like organisms that have been found deep within rocks and sediments and not in or near any other kind of organism. Archaea are most commonly found in extreme environments.
This research shows that the human gut microbiome is highly variable, making it possible for people to have different reactions to antibiotics and probiotics
The discovery of integrons in Archaea will most certainly open up new avenues of research.
One possible way to stop drug-resistant bacteria could be by swapping genes from archaea to bacteria