AI Summary

University at Buffalo researchers discovered that several Scheffersomyces yeast species share a set of four related genes that originated from an ancient virus. Genetic analysis shows the viral material was incorporated into yeast genomes and has been transferred among different Scheffersomyces species at least three times. The study suggests that the gut environment and droppings of beetles facilitated these gene exchanges, providing a conduit for the viral DNA to move between yeast hosts. Findings were published in Molecular Biology and Evolution.

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