American scientist finds selfish DNA plays an important role in evolution
There are tens of millions of genes in nature, which type is the most common and abundant? A research team composed of scientists from South Florida State University, San Diego State University and the University of Chicago found the answer after successfully decoding a large number of genomes, that is A transposon called "selfish DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)". The abundance and breadth of transposon genes indicate that they have played a crucial role in evolution and biodiversity maintenance. Transposon has won many "titles" in the scientific community for its unique behavior. At present, the only known function is to spread yourself everywhere, so some people nickname it its "selfish gene"; according to the transposon can move in or between organisms and produce changing genetic material characteristics, some people call it " Jumping gene ". Mia Researcher, School of Marine Science, South Florida State University The discovery published in the latest issue of "Nucleic Acid Research" has attracted widespread attention not only because it brings new knowledge to these common DNAs, but also because of the large-scale scientists carried out in the project. Calculation. The project was led by San Diego State University and used one of the fastest computers in Argonne National Laboratory for sequencing analysis. The research team analyzed the genome sequences of thousands of bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, and viruses, as well as the protein-coding genes and gene tags in the metagenomes of thousands of environmental communities. Brightbart said that scientists often use transposon genes in research projects to carry out various experiments to mutate, destroy or knock out genes in the organisms under study. But transposons can also bring new functions and create diversity in organisms. The researchers say that transposon genes are so ubiquitous in the genome that they are often overlooked. They can migrate from one place to another, causing mutations and recombinations that are generally harmful, but occasionally they can also help organisms survive. Biology textbooks generally believe that the enzyme that can fix carbon dioxide during photosynthesis is the most abundant enzyme on earth, and it is also speculated that the gene that can encode this enzyme should also be the most abundant. One of the co-investigators, Lamy of Cairo University However, transposon genes are not evenly distributed throughout nature. Some genomes have many transposon genes, while others have missing transposon genes. Brightbart said that scientists are just beginning to understand the existence and role of transposons in the environment. These extremely successful genes are spreading their DNA everywhere, making large amounts of copies and invading all types of living organisms. In previous studies, transposons were known to account for 40% of the human genome, but they have never been comprehensively evaluated in different ecosystems. Aziz said that now people finally know that there are a large number of such genes in almost every ecosystem sampled so far, these genes accelerate the process of mutation and diversification, thus driving the evolution of different organisms . Cushions in various shapes, sizes, and designs, and they are often covered with fabric or leather. Foshan City Misirui Furniture Co., Limited , https://www.misiruifurniture.com