As we continue to unravel the genomes of more and more organisms, the contributions from this dynamic and
ancient gene pool should become apparent.
In contrast, disorders that occurred equally among purebred and mixed - breed dogs appeared to
represent ancient gene mutations that had become widely spread throughout the dog population.
By comparing the V. carteri germ and somatic cell transcriptomes, Matt and Umen found that the somatic cells had more transcripts from young, lineage - specific genes, whereas the germ cells had more transcripts
from ancient genes that are similar to those expressed in stem cells from animals and land plants.
Indeed, beyond sequencing these two organisms, the team was also interested in
identifying ancient gene families that were already present in the deuterostome ancestor.
Although counterintuitive, this is reminiscent of the way certain pluripotent stem cells in other systems express a greater number of genes — including
more ancient genes — than their somatic daughter cells do.
germ and somatic cell transcriptomes, Matt and Umen found that the somatic cells had more transcripts from young, lineage - specific genes, whereas the germ cells had more transcripts
from ancient genes that are similar to those expressed in stem cells from animals and land plants.
When
these ancient genes produce amino acids, they are rich in the amino acids most common in the Miller - Urey and similar experiments!
These fish have two distinct copies of the SWS2 gene — SWS2A and SWS2B, which arose from
an ancient gene duplication event 198 million years ago in the ancestor of all spiny - finned fish.
They chose Niemann - Pick Type C, a lysosomal storage disease associated with mutations in two
ancient genes that are well - conserved in many organisms.
Even if DNA could be extracted from amber - preserved tissues, it, too, would likely be in fragments, which made isolating
an ancient gene a daunting prospect.
Amid the chaos of finishing their PhD theses, they have begun searching for
ancient genes that might control sleep, in the hope that this might provide hints as to why sleep originally evolved.
Scientists have resurrected
an ancient gene that can jump between chromosomes in the cells of zebra fish, salmon, and humans.
For example,
the ancient gene for HLA - A, which helps the body resist viruses like Epstein - Barr, is present in half of all modern Europeans, more than 70 percent of Asians, and up to 95 percent of people in Papua New Guinea.
The authors suggest that altering the regulation of these fundamental and
ancient genes may be harmful.
The idea of eating to compliment
your ancient genes immediately made sense to me.