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Cockroach Genomes Harbor Record-Size Bacterial DNA Fragments

6/20/2026

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Summary

Story summary

University of Sydney researchers reported cockroach genomes contain 40,485 DNA fragments transferred from the bacterium Blattabacterium cuenoti.
Insert sizes span 93 to 4,900 base pairs, far above earlier eukaryote records of under 300 fragments.
Some fragments have persisted for at least 28.7 million years, though their functional role remains unknown.
The findings were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Story summary

University of Sydney researchers reported cockroach genomes contain 40,485 DNA fragments transferred from the bacterium Blattabacterium cuenoti.
Insert sizes span 93 to 4,900 base pairs, far above earlier eukaryote records of under 300 fragments.
Some fragments have persisted for at least 28.7 million years, though their functional role remains unknown.
The findings were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.