A new study has uncovered an unprecedented example of horizontal gene transfer — the acquisition of foreign DNA from different, unrelated species — in a South Pacific shrub that is considered to be the sole survivor of one of the two oldest lineages of flowering plants.
The research also shows, for the first time, that an organelle genome has captured an entire foreign genome, in this case, at least four of them. It is also the first description of a land plant acquiring genes from green algae.
The researchers are sure most of it is junk:
But people have said that kind of thing before … The Myth of Junk DNA
Remember when some claimed that horizontal gene transfer was a minor — exceedingly minor — player in evolution, rarely happened, compared to the supposed creative power of natural selection acting on isolated random mutations (Darwinism)?
We agree that Darwinism makes better Christmas decorations.