Haha. Just fyi, the idea that viruses might account for some lateral genetic transfer had occured to me long ago. How much is unclear. What is clear is 1) viruses don't account for many of the forms variation we see (e.g. SNPs, chromosome doublings, halvings, crossover, merging) and 2) variation, of whatever nature, is, by itself, not an explanation of speciation.
It's almost as if birds and tree dwelling mammals had the same genes,
But *do* they have the same genes that express this property?
In fact, we (meaning everybody but the bacteria) have chromosomes shaped just like those found in viruses.
This is not true. Chromosomes are double-stranded DNA macro-molecules. Many virus genomes are composed of RNA. Others of single-stranded DNA. Some have double-stranded DNA. Furthermore they are generally much shorter than what we'd consider a macro-molecules.
In any case, your own genes are clustered together the same way as DNA viral genes.
Bacteria are different ~ they have rod-shaped chromosomes.
BTW, remember when there were nothing but bacteria on Earth? Nothing happened. Then, all at once, there was an infusion of new genes, and all hell broke loose ~ teeth, bones, talons, blood, etc., etc.
I recall it well.
Earth encountered something that was biologically significant.