In a study conducted by University of California, Berkeley biologists, it was found that several species of fruit fly have stolen a successful defense from bacteria to survive predation by parasitic wasps. The stolen defense, a gene that encodes a toxin, can be edited into the genome of other fruit fly species, making them resistant to parasitoid wasps as well. This finding highlights the common occurrence of horizontal gene transfer in animals, allowing for rapid evolution to overcome challenges from parasites. Understanding this process can aid in the development of therapies to combat infectious diseases in animals and potentially in humans.
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Fruit flies steal bacterial defense to survive parasitic wasps
