What is it about?
After Darwin, I propose a theory to explain what happened before, i.e. before the tree of life and the emergence of all different organisms. In my view of the beginning of life, RNA mutations have played a central role. This is based on highlight results obtained recently in moths. A huge degree of mutations is found in in moth chemosensory protein (CSP) family, leading to a huge diversity of variants in particular in the female pheromone gland. A function in exocytosis is proposed for these proteins. Importance of CSP mutation is discussed in relation with pheromone transport and release as well as specific “genetic” human diseases associated with the common release mechanism of fatty acids and secretory granules in gland cells.
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Why is it important?
This work probably takes an essential part in the debate about RNA scrutiny http://www.nature.com/news/rna-editing-study-under-intense-scrutiny-1.10217. It is the first set of data from both RNA and protein analysis highlighting the existence of specific mechanisms of recoding in the eukaryotic genome.
Perspectives
Our finding about RNA mutations brings maybe an answer to the question about humanity origin. “Life originates in simple forms and develops with time into more and more complex systems” (Charles Darwin on the origin of species, 1859). At one very long time in the most remote distant past, nucleobase chemicals that flew in space may have mutated on Earth, providing life with an extraordinary start. Evidence for RNA mutation might explain how one single RNA strand turns in many to build a cell then a tissue.
Prof. Dr. Jean-François Jeff Picimbon
Qilu University of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: RNA mutations in the moth pheromone gland, RNA & DISEASE, October 2014, Smart Science and Technology, LLC,
DOI: 10.14800/rd.240.
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