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NOT PREDICTABLE? "Several examples show that the same phenotype might evolve among populations within a species by changes in different genes. Conversely, similar phenotypes might evolve in distantly related species by changes in the same gene." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016953470700287X View in LinkedIn

CONVERGENT VS PARALLEL EVOLUTION. "Biologists often distinguish ‘convergent’ from ‘parallel’ evolution. This distinction usually assumes that when a given phenotype evolves, the underlying genetic mechanisms are different in distantly related species (convergent) but similar in closely related species (parallel)." https://lnkd.in/eWhKvHV View in LinkedIn

WIDESPREAD CONVERGENCE. "Adaptive phenotypic convergence is widespread in nature, and recent results from several genes have suggested that this phenomenon is powerful enough to also drive recurrent evolution at the sequence level." https://lnkd.in/epGtvrz View in LinkedIn

"THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD. Major evolutionary jumps might be caused by changes in gene regulation rather than the emergence of new genes." https://lnkd.in/eNHFjJ8 View in LinkedIn

SELECTIVE PRESSURE DRIVERS. "Evolution is typically thought to proceed through divergence of genes, proteins and ultimately phenotypes. However, similar traits might also evolve convergently in unrelated taxa owing to similar selection pressures." https://lnkd.in/epGtvrz View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE this next two weekends deals with parallel or convergent evolution, where two traits appear independently. Given the individual complexity and significant differences in molecular and structural organization, this fact seems at best improbable. The chance of being hit twice by lightning approaches the likelihood of such events, but read on, as they are simply not that rare. View in LinkedIn

HERBAL GENE REGULATION. "Moringa oleifera is a widespread plant with substantial nutritional and medicinal value. We postulated that microRNAs (miRNAs), which are endogenous, noncoding small RNAs regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, might contribute to the medicinal properties of plants of this species after ingestion into human body, regulating human gene expression." https://lnkd.in/eBr8GUp View in LinkedIn

VIRAL ACTIVITY. "Our results demonstrate that MIR2911 is the first active component identified in Traditional Chinese Medicine to directly target various IAVs and may represent a novel type of natural product that effectively suppresses viral infection." (IAVs = Influenza A viruses) https://lnkd.in/exApn_B View in LinkedIn

"HERBAL MEDICINE has been used for thousands of years, however little is known about its molecular mechanism of action. Since the discovery of plant miRNA in human tissue and sera after ingestion, the connection between the two kingdoms is presented under a new perspective." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332215002012 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