"Do Plants 'veto' Bad Genes?
by Heidi Ledford
Nature: International Weekly-Journal of Science
Studies by Dr. Susan Lolle of the University of Waterloo propose that plants may be able to reject mutated parent genes in favor of healthier grandparent genes. Her work in 2005 claimed that genes from a grandparent generation of Thales cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) appeared in grandchildren, despite them being absent from the parents genomes. Scientists theorize that the appearance of ancestral genes could come from RNA, or an outside source of DNA. However, there has been many challenges to the validity of this study after several researchers were unable to replicate Lolle's results. To combat this skepticism, she has repeated the experiment multiple times, to reaffirm her earlier findings. Another area of criticism for this experiment regards the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its connection to possible pollen contamination. Lolle claims that they have limited the contamination for the experiments and performed enough trials to further reaffirm her data. Recently, another group of researchers has gotten the same results, though scientists are concerned about pollen contamination in regard to their experiment.
I agree with Animesh Ray of the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Science who claimed that, "If we believe in the veracity of the experiments, these are very intriguing observations." These are fascinating results, that if proven could change the way we think about plant heredity and even evolution. However, further experimentation by international groups before it confirmed. Like any new study, extensive research must be conducted with a varsity of organisms to validate the results. The ability of organisms to reject mutated traits, in favor of ancestral ones is a fascinating concept that could help explain evolutionary patterns or even offer potential of helping deal with hereditary illness in a medical context. This new theory of gene selection reminds me of the article on epigenetics I wrote about last month, where organisms expressed different traits, despite having the same genetic information. In conclusion, the emergence of new theories involving genetic inheritance show great potential for explaining evolutionary patterns or helping prevent DNA-linked diseases.
by Heidi Ledford
Nature: International Weekly-Journal of Science
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| Thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) |
I agree with Animesh Ray of the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Science who claimed that, "If we believe in the veracity of the experiments, these are very intriguing observations." These are fascinating results, that if proven could change the way we think about plant heredity and even evolution. However, further experimentation by international groups before it confirmed. Like any new study, extensive research must be conducted with a varsity of organisms to validate the results. The ability of organisms to reject mutated traits, in favor of ancestral ones is a fascinating concept that could help explain evolutionary patterns or even offer potential of helping deal with hereditary illness in a medical context. This new theory of gene selection reminds me of the article on epigenetics I wrote about last month, where organisms expressed different traits, despite having the same genetic information. In conclusion, the emergence of new theories involving genetic inheritance show great potential for explaining evolutionary patterns or helping prevent DNA-linked diseases.
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