# Water Bears (AKA Tardigrades) have non-animal plant & fungal DNA in their genome!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-bears-aka-tardigrades-have-non-animal-plant-fungal-dna-in-their-genome/738806>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 28, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-bears-aka-tardigrades-have-non-animal-plant-fungal-dna-in-their-genome/738806 "2015-11-28T04:49:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-bears-aka-tardigrades-have-non-animal-plant-fungal-dna-in-their-genome/738806/1 "2015-11-28T04:49:53Z")

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This was fascinating!

[The tardigrade genome has been sequenced, and it has the most foreign DNA of any animal](http://www.sciencealert.com/the-tardigrade-genome-has-been-sequenced-and-it-has-the-most-foreign-dna-of-any-animal)

> [@](#):
>
> So where is the tardigrade getting all its genes from? The foreign DNA comes primarily from bacteria, but also from plants, fungi, and Archaea. And it’s this incredible variety of genes that researchers suggest has allowed the water bear to survive in such extreme conditions.
> 
> “Animals that can survive extreme stresses may be particularly prone to acquiring foreign genes – and bacterial genes might be better able to withstand stresses than animal ones,” said one of the researchers, Thomas Boothby.
> 
> The team hasn’t investigated exactly how this gene-stealing is happening just yet, but they propose that it’s a result of one of the tardigrade’s other crazy survival mechanisms – the ability to dry out until its body is less than 3 percent water, and then come bounce back once they’re rehydrated.
> 
> When this desiccation happens, scientists know that their DNA breaks down into tiny pieces. They also know that when their cells rehydrate, there’s a point in time when the cell nucleus is leaky, allowing DNA and other molecules to pass through. That means that while the tardigrade is quickly patching up its own genome, it may accidentally be stitching in another organism’s genes.

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**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-bears-aka-tardigrades-have-non-animal-plant-fungal-dna-in-their-genome/738806/2 "2015-11-28T05:19:41Z")

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So [Tyranids](http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Tyranids) originated on Earth. Who knew?

And why does this not surprise me?