It is increasingly clear that eukaryotes have acquired bacterial DNA and function through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Chou et al. (2014) and Metcalf et al. (2014) report multiple HGTs of bacterial tae and lysozyme genes, respectively, to diverse eukaryotic and archaeal hosts that may complement their response to bacteria.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.