Читать книгу Astrobiology - Charles S. Cockell - Страница 119

One of the more enigmatic occurrences of DNA is extracellular deoxyribonucleic acid (eDNA), which is found outside the cell. Once thought to be DNA that had simply been released from dead cells, it is now understood to be involved in a variety of processes, including the formation of biofilms in bacteria. It may also provide a rich source of genetic information that can be sequestered by other organisms in the process of transformation, whereby naked DNA in the environment is taken up and incorporated into the genome of organisms. This process is discussed in more detail in Chapter 8.