Ufasomes as Plausible Carriers for Horizontal Gene Transfer

Abstract

In this article, we propose ufasomes as carriers for the horizontal transfer of genes from plants. “Ufasome” is an abbreviation for unsaturated fatty acid liposomes, which are generated at specific pH. The formation of ufasomes is believed to occur due to associative interaction in mixtures of fully ionized and unionized fatty acids at pH > 7.0. In past, ufasomes have been widely considered as pre-biotic models for cellular compartments. Using same principles, in the present work, we provide a theoretical treatise presenting ufasomes as carriers for horizontal transfer of engineered genes from plants to either soil-microbes or to environment.

Keywords:

• Horizontal gene transfer
• iono-molecular species
• liposome
• oleic acid
• ufasomes