The Jumping Gene Mystery

The Jumping Gene Mystery

A strange gene called BovB has been found in all kinds of animals-cows, snakes, butterflies, sea urchins, and even scorpions. It doesn't pass down from parents like normal genes. Instead, it somehow "jumps" between completely unrelated species. Scientists first noticed this in the 1990s when they discovered cows had a version of BovB that looked more like the one in snakes than in other mammals. In cows, the gene has copied itself so many times that it now makes up 25% of their entire DNA.

Researchers believe ticks, bed bugs, or leeches may have helped BovB spread by biting different animals and passing the gene along. One study found ticks that carry BovB and bite both reptiles and mammals, including humans. But the mystery deepens because the gene versions in some hosts don't match the ones in the parasites, and some species with nearly identical BovB genes live on opposite sides of the planet. BovB has shown up in kangaroos, elephants, moths, sea creatures, and more, with no clear pattern.

No one knows where BovB originally came from or how it keeps spreading. Some think it began hundreds of millions of years ago, others say more recently. It might even be spread by a virus we haven't discovered yet. Despite all the theories, BovB keeps rewriting the rules of evolution and leaving scientists puzzled.

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