The genes of new tardigrade species arm it with a radiation shield
DNA sequencing reveals thousands of genes that become more active when exposed to radiation, revealing discovery of a unique tardigrade species in the Henan province
“It’s like when in wartime, when factories are refitted to just make munitions. It’s almost that level of retooling how gene expression is working,” says Bob Goldstein, a cell biologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has been studying tardigrades for 25 years. “We’re fascinated by how an organism would change their gene expression to a point where they’re making that much transcript for specific genes.”
A new species of tardigrade is giving scientists insight into what makes these tiny eight-legged creatures so resistant to radiation. Scientists sequenced the genome of this new species and identified thousands of genes that become more active when exposed to radiation. These processes point to a sophisticated defence system that involves protecting DNA from the damage that radiation causes and repairing any breaks that do occur. They hope that these insights could be harnessed to protect humans exposed to radiation during space missions or to improve cancer treatment.
Around six years ago, Zhang and his colleagues ventured into Funiu Mountain in China’s Henan province to collect moss samples. They identified a previously unrecognized species of tardigrade in the laboratory and under the microscope. Genome sequencing revealed that the species had 14,701 genes, 30% of which are unique to tardigrades.
Molecular Mechanisms that Make Tardigrades Tougher to Extreme Conditions: A Proposal for Implications for Biomedical Applications
The authors hope that their insights can be harnessed to help protect astronauts from radiation during space missions, clean up nuclear pollution or improve cancer treatment.
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, have long fascinated scientists with their ability to endure extreme conditions, including radiation levels that are more than 1000 times higher than for humans. There are around 1,500 known tardigrade species, but only a handful are well-studied.
One of the genes that helps to repair double-strand breaks is known as TRID1 and it is a member of the family of genes. I am not certain if anyone was studying this newgene, to my knowledge.
The researchers also estimate that 0.5–3.1% of the tardigrade’s genes were acquired from other organisms through a process known as horizontal gene transfer. A gene called DODA1, which seems to have been acquired from bacteria, enables tardigrades to produce four types of antioxidant pigments called betalains. These pigments can mop up some of the harmful reactive chemicals that radiation causes to form inside cells, which account for 60–70% of radiation’s damaging effects.
Studying the molecular mechanisms that allow tardigrades to tolerate other harsh conditions, such as extreme temperatures, air deprivation, dehydration and starvation, could have wide applications. It could help improve the shelf life of vaccines. “All your medicines have expiration dates — tardigrades don’t,” says Goldstein.
This research is important because it attempts to compare the mechanisms of different tardigrades. “We are still lacking knowledge of different tardigrade species out there,” she says.
The animals have a number of protectants that will likely keep spilling out more that are useful and interesting to understand. We want to know how those work and what their potential is.
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Paleontologist Alexander Morton- Hayward studied why a small part of ancient brains are resistant to the destruction of soft tissue after death. Her motivation is beyond scientific curiosity. She is a former mortician, and she suffers from a rare brain abnormality and daily cluster headaches: extremely painful attacks that led her to attempt suicide. “I’m always aware of my brain,” she says. It feels like its in worse shape than the ones I have on a bench in the lab.
Source: Daily briefing: Specialized genes of new tardigrade species arm it with radiation shield
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