Grass species are stealing genes from each other in the wild, bypassing the slow pace of normal evolution. This project will uncover how and how often that happens. Lateral gene transfer—moving DNA between organisms without sex—is well known in bacteria, where it spreads antibiotic resistance. But in plants, it remains a black box. Researchers know that genes jump between different grass species in natural grasslands, but they have no idea about the mechanism, the frequency, or where the stolen DNA lands in the recipient’s genome. This project aims to fill that gap. If successful, the work could reframe how biologists understand plant evolution. It would show that grasses—and potentially other plants—can effectively expand their gene pool without waiting for random mutations, gaining new traits for adapting to environmental change. That matters for predicting how crops and wild grasses might respond to climate shifts, drought, or new pests. This is fundamental science. There is no immediate practical application. But understanding how plants naturally “genetically engineer” themselves could, down the line, inform crop breeding strategies or reveal why some grasses become invasive.
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Adaptation to the environment is usually driven through natural selection, with those that survive and reproduce in greater numbers making a greater contribution to the next generation. The variation that is available for natural selection usually arises through random mutation in the genetic material passed between the generations. Whilst we know this process gave rise to the diversity of life we see today, useful mutations arise infrequently and so adaptation to environmental change can be slow. However, there are evolutionary processes that can bypass the protracted time required for adaptive evolution. Lateral gene transfer (LGT) can accelerate adaptive evolution by moving genetic information between organisms without sexual reproduction, effectively expanding the genetic substrate that natural selection can act upon. This process is known to be ubiquitous in bacteria, where it can spread traits such as antibiotic resistance. However, over the last decade a number of examples have been identified in plants and animals, where it can drive environmental adaptation. LGT between different grass species is widespread in natural grasslands. However, beyond its documented occurrence, we know almost nothing about how these transfers happen or how commonly they occur. For this project, we will use grasses as a model system to address these unanswered questions, with three main objectives: Objective 1: Test if reproductive contamination underpins grass-to-grass LGT. We hypothesise that reproductive contamination (the introduction of DNA from a third party during sexual reproduction) is how genes are moving between reproductively isolated species in the wild. Objective 2: Quantify the background rate of LGT in a natural grassland. The background rate of LGT is what ultimately generates the substrate that selection can act upon, and its estimation is essential to determine the relative contribution of LGT to adaptive evolution. Objective 3: Test if LGTs are inserted non-randomly into the recipient's genome. For LGT to be successful, the third party DNA needs to be incorporated into the recipient's genome in a location where it can persist and influence adaptive evolution. This work will reframe our understanding of the importance of LGT in plant evolution, providing a plausible pathway by which “natural genetic engineering” can enable species to expand their genepool to incorporate novel genetic variation and fuel environmental adaptation.
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