Survival of the fit-ish

It can be hard to dispute the common adage ‘survival of the fittest’. After all, “most of the genes in the genome are there because they’re doing something good,” says Sarah Zanders, PhD, assistant investigator at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. But, she says, “others are just there because they’ve figured out a way to be there.”

It can be hard to dispute the common adage ‘survival of the fittest’. After all, “most of the genes in the genome are there because they’re doing something good,” says Sarah Zanders, PhD, assistant investigator at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. But, she says, “others are just there because they’ve figured out a way to be there.”

The conventional understanding of evolution is that genes encoding a beneficial function are the most frequently transmitted, which ensures that the fittest organisms — the ones that have traits most favorable for their environment — survive. Less known is the fact that there exist parasitic gene elements within an organism that are doing just the opposite.

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