Wolfson alumnus leads research that challenges conventional view of evolution

Dr Alastair Crisp (2007) is the lead author of a recently published article that asserts that many animals, including humans, were the beneficiaries of ‘foreign' genes from co-habiting micro-organisms in a process called horizontal gene transfer. This research challenges the conventional understanding of evolution in animals, which holds that genes are passed solely through ancestral lines.

Dr Crisp, who completed a DPhil in Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at Wolfson in 2011, is currently a member of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. He said: “This is the first study to show how widely horizontal gene transfer occurs in animals, including humans, giving rise to tens or hundreds of active 'foreign' genes. Surprisingly, far from being a rare occurrence, it appears that this has contributed to the evolution of many, perhaps all, animals and that the process is ongoing. We may need to re-evaluate how we think about evolution.”

The full article can be accessed on the Genome Biology Journal website. The research has also featured on the Cambridge University website, the Telegraph, the Economist, and Science.