Month: September 2022

AVIAN SITE VARIANCE. “The capacity to synthesize vitamin C in birds showed that whereas most bird species studied were able to synthesize vitamin C, the organ where it was synthesized varied. It was synthesized in the kidneys of 7 species, the kidneys and liver of 2 species, the liver of 5 species and by neither organ in one species.” https://lnkd.in/d66RD9Z View in LinkedIn

BIRD GENE REACTIVATION. “In conclusion, given the set of Passeriformes bird species currently known to be able and unable to synthesize vitamin C and the currently accepted phylogenetic relationships of these species, one can deduce that the ability of synthesizing vitamin C has been unequivocally reacquired at least twice, once in the Corvus/Dendrocitta lineage and once in the Turdoides lineage.” https://lnkd.in/d66RD9Z View in LinkedIn

SNAKES AND LADDERS. “If one assumes that the inability to synthesize vitamin C is ancestral in the Passeriformes, then the ability of synthesizing vitamin C has been reacquired four times. If one assumes that the ability to synthesize vitamin C is ancestral in the Passeriformes, then the ability of synthesizing vitamin C has been reacquired three times and lost twice.” https://lnkd.in/d66RD9Z View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this first weekend on the vitamin C gene, and its breaking and remaking. This highly characterized gene is a poster child for the random experiments of nature. As we will see next weekend, the lack of scientific consensus on the actual role and benefits of vitamin C underline really how little we know about this gene product. View in LinkedIn

BIDIRECTIONAL TRAFFICKING. "Trafficking sRNAs derive from various species, including plants, viruses, and fungi. In most cases, crossover by these RNAs occurs in host-parasites interactions. Unlike miRNAs transferred from plants to mammals, these interactions are not one-sided, but bidirectional." (sRNA = small/microRNA (miRNA)). https://lnkd.in/eqwgs-g View in LinkedIn

CROSS-KINGDOM. "There has been a report that microRNAs from food may regulate gene expression in mammals. It was shown that miR-168a from rice is transported from the gastrointestinal tract to target organs in mice. Another recent study published by the same group suggests that in influenza-infected mice honeysuckle exhibits its anti-viral potency via microRNA-2911. Yet, a so-called cross-kingdom regulation by microRNAs is still under debate." https://lnkd.in/erkHGt5 View in LinkedIn

CONTROL. "Many of the mechanisms of epigenetic control such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, known to regulate protein coding genes, also seem to be applied to microRNA genes." View in LinkedIn

Missing reference: Non-Coding RNAs: A Dynamic and Complex Network of Gene Regulation" "Munshi A! Mohan V and Ahuja YR View in LinkedIn

FRAGILE SITE LOCATION. "More than 50% of microRNA genes are located in fragile sites and common breakpoint regions frequently associated with cancer." (Munshi A, Mohan V and Ahuja YR). View in LinkedIn

VIRAL MESSENGERS. "Viral miRNAs are reported to regulate expression of viral as well as host genic expression by interfering with the repression or cleavage of mRNA transcripts, also thereby influencing host cellular processes that respond to viral infection." (Munshi A, Mohan V and Ahuja YR). View in LinkedIn