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Yale Researchers Find New RNA Structures
Science Daily is reporting that researchers from Yale have discovered "very large RNA structures within previously unstudied bacteria that appear crucial to basic biological functions such as helping viruses infect cells or allowing genes to 'jump' to different parts of the chromosome." Ronald Breaker, professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale, stated that this would be equivalent to protein scientists finding a whole new class of enzymes. "The Breaker laboratory has used the explosion of DNA sequence information and new computer programs to discover six of the top twelve largest bacterial RNAs just in the last several years. One of the newly discovered RNAs, called GOLLD, is the third largest and most complex RNA discovered to date, and appears to be used by viruses that infect bacteria. Another large RNA revealed in the study, called HEARO, has a genetic structure that suggests it is part of a type of 'jumping gene' that can move to new locations in the bacterial chromosome."
This gives a bit of extra credence to the RNA world theory - ie that RNA was the precursor to DNA and very early life forms relied on it exclusively (yeah ok , some viruses still do but they're not technically alive) - if RNA can be used to do this as well as protein creation etc.
Thanks. That enzyme analogy is really helpful to people in the bio research field.
But this is slashdot. We expect more from our analogists. Specifically, we expect a car analogy (no, a pizza analogy does not suffice).
Perhaps discovering this new class of RNA structures is like discovering a new type of fuel injection system, so we better optimize fuel-air mixture for power and efficiency. Perhaps it's like discovering a new type of rubber for our tires, for better traction and wear. Perhaps it's like discovering a new type of battery so we can all get cheap, quickly charging, long-range electrical cars.
But most likely it's not like any of those things, and we'll never really understand the implications of this discovery, because the people who really understand it didn't bother to give us the necessary car analogy.
Bastards.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
I'm nearly finished the Yale lectures on evolution, ecology and behavior. Professor Stearns addresses the RNA world theory of life origins. The Yale lecture series is really outstanding. If you're a Global Warming skeptic you'll be interested in Professor Stearns suggestion that human induced global warming has the potential for an extinction event on par with the one that drove the extinction of the dinosaurs. The production values in the Yale lectures is really good and the lectures offered give a sort of pocket edition of the human condition.
ideopath @ play
From the published article in Nature:
In Lactobacillus brevis ATCC 367 and other organisms, GOLLD RNA resides in an apparent prophage. We therefore monitored GOLLD RNA transcription in L. brevis cultures grown with mitomycin C, an antibiotic that commonly induces prophages to lyse their hosts22. Increased GOLLD RNA expression correlates with bacteriophage particle production, and DNA corresponding to the GOLLD RNA gene is packaged into phage particles
The role of GOLLD RNA is uncertain enough, and the GOLLD-virus relationship close enough, that it might be reasonable to suggest that they have not found a new RNA structure in bacteria, but a new class of RNA structure in a virus (which is odd enough it may give us a new group of viruses). Since these bacteria are uncultured or only recently cultured, they are poorly characterized, we might not really have a good idea of whether there is some "normal" type of this bacteria that is free of the RNA structure, and that the structure is merely an artifact of being infected.
Of course, given how messy host-virus relationships can be, it's entirely possible you could have a species of bacteria universally infected by this jumbo-RNA-producing virus, or that they might have reached some sort of symbiosis, with GOLLD playing some role beneficial to the host. Likewise, while HEARO hasn't been associated with a prophage, it's role in moving in and out of the genome could suggest it was introduced by a phage at some point in the past, and has since acquired an identity and role in the host of it's own.
From the article: (Move definition up) RNA molecules are best known for carrying information from genes encoded in DNA to ribosomes
Are there (Move definition down) RNA molecules too?
Do these articles use the same editors as slashdot?
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
Are these new RNA structures, or newly discovered RNA structures? My bet is that they are ancient structures that these guys have just recently found.
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
According the Dr. Hubert J. Farnsworth, the R stands for Robot!
Ronald Breaker, professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale, stated that this would be equivalent to protein scientists finding a whole new class of enzymes. Well, at least they've nailed their analogies! Now I can finally relate to their situation.
Seriously - they are much closer, just a lil longer hood, and some higher, more unstable wheels for all that "off roading" that the SUVs do.
..........FULL STOP.
Interesting, murderd Yale graduate student Annie Li was on the verge of similar discovery. I wonder if she was posthumously credited for her research contributions. I wonder who stands to make a lot of money from this discovery. I love the media and crap they sling.