Lateral Gene Transfer (geobiology)

Most genes are inherited from ancestral cells that divide. However, some genes get exchanged between distantly related organisms in a process called lateral (or horizontal) gene transfer. In this video, I show an example from an analysis of the evolution of land plants. It looks like genes from bacteria, archaea and fungi were all transferred into the ancestors of land plants, allowing them to develop the capacity to form branching roots, their vascular structure, and more.