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Atlanta, GA | Posted: June 13, 2011
School of Biology
Summary Sentence:
A new study demonstrates RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human cells.
Full Summary:
No summary paragraph submitted.
RNA StrandA new study demonstrates RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human
cells.
Not long ago, it was considered that the major role played by RNA was
to carry genetic information for protein synthesis. Although an astonishing
variety of RNA functions have been found in the last few decades, it has always
been very difficult to determine if any RNA has the capacity to genetically
modify the DNA of cells.
By using RNA-containing oligos, the Storici’s team (Assistant Professor,
School of Biology) has found that RNA can function as a template for DNA
synthesis without being reverse transcribed into cDNA, not only in yeast but
also in Escherichia coli and in the human embryonic kidney (HEK-293)
cells. These findings establish that a direct flow of genetic information from
RNA to DNA can occur in organisms as diverse as bacteria and humans, and thus,
it can be a significant source of genetic variation. The goal of future research
is to understand the mechanisms by which RNA can directly transfer information
to the DNA of cells and to reveal the circumstances in which RNA information can
flow to DNA.
The study, which was published April 14 in the advance online
edition of the journal Mutation Research, was conducted by a group of
graduate and undergraduate students in the Storici’s lab in the School of
Biology at Georgia Tech in collaboration with Bernard Weiss from Emory
University School of Medicine.
