|
The cooperative view: New evidence suggests a symbiogenetic origin for the centrosome
May 07, 2008MBL, WOODS HOLE, MA - There are two ways in which cooperation is the theme of a paper published this week by Mark Alliegro and Mary Anne Alliegro, scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory's (MBL) Josephine Bay Paul Center.
One is revealed in the paper's acknowledgements, where the Alliegros thank those who helped them after Hurricane Katrina completely disrupted their laboratory at Louisiana State University (LSU) in New Orleans - and their lives - in 2005.
The second is the paper's scientific theme: the origin of the centrosome, a component of animal cells that functions in cell division. In their paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Alliegros give evidence that the centrosome evolved through symbiogenesis - in which previously independent organisms fuse, become mutually dependent, and over time, become a single composite organism - rather than by the evolutionary process of random, heritable mutations and natural selection.
The Alliegros moved to the MBL permanently in September 2007, after two years of attempting to forge on in a devastated New Orleans. "We realized, if we stayed there, our research program would not survive," says Mark Alliegro, who was a professor at LSU Health Sciences Center.
The origin of the centrosome, their paper points out, has been controversial for many years. The theory of symbiogenesis as a mechanism of evolution has also stirred debate since it was introduced in the 1920s and subsequently elaborated in the 1960s by Lynn Margulis of University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Today, only two cellular components - the mitochondria and the chloroplasts - are generally accepted by evolutionary biologists as having a symbiogenetic origin. The Alliegros' paper suggests that centrosomes are another likely candidate.
They base their argument on evidence that the centrosomes, which they obtained from the eggs of the surf clam Spisula, contain RNA that is likely a remnant of a once-independent, simpler genome that was incorporated by symbiosis.
"Most animal genes have introns, regions that are transcribed into RNA but then spliced out," says Alliegro. "But if you look at viral genes or bacterial genes, they have little or no introns. It turns out the genes for Spisula centrosomal RNAs have few or no introns. They are a special set of RNAs that derived from intron-poor or intron-less genes, which may very well support the idea that they come from a simpler organism, like a virus or bacteria."
The Alliegros lost their RNA library due to Katrina, and in their paper they acknowledge Gloria Giarratano of LSU Health Sciences Center, who helped them re-clone the library from DNA they recovered in the hurricane's aftermath. They also thank Bruce and Sharon Waddell of Slidell, Louisiana, in whose home they lived after Katrina, and where "our laboratory was resurrected in part from the dining room table"; as well as Carol Burdsal and other colleagues at Tulane University, where they temporarily set up a new lab. Robert Palazzo of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a longtime visiting investigator at the MBL, is acknowledged for providing the centrosome preparation for the original RNA extractions as well as advice and encouragement. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health as well as post-Katrina emergency recovery funds from the Society for Developmental Biology.
Marine Biological Laboratory
The Alliegros moved to the MBL permanently in September 2007, after two years of attempting to forge on in a devastated New Orleans. "We realized, if we stayed there, our research program would not survive," says Mark Alliegro, who was a professor at LSU Health Sciences Center.
The origin of the centrosome, their paper points out, has been controversial for many years. The theory of symbiogenesis as a mechanism of evolution has also stirred debate since it was introduced in the 1920s and subsequently elaborated in the 1960s by Lynn Margulis of University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Today, only two cellular components - the mitochondria and the chloroplasts - are generally accepted by evolutionary biologists as having a symbiogenetic origin. The Alliegros' paper suggests that centrosomes are another likely candidate.
They base their argument on evidence that the centrosomes, which they obtained from the eggs of the surf clam Spisula, contain RNA that is likely a remnant of a once-independent, simpler genome that was incorporated by symbiosis.
"Most animal genes have introns, regions that are transcribed into RNA but then spliced out," says Alliegro. "But if you look at viral genes or bacterial genes, they have little or no introns. It turns out the genes for Spisula centrosomal RNAs have few or no introns. They are a special set of RNAs that derived from intron-poor or intron-less genes, which may very well support the idea that they come from a simpler organism, like a virus or bacteria."
The Alliegros lost their RNA library due to Katrina, and in their paper they acknowledge Gloria Giarratano of LSU Health Sciences Center, who helped them re-clone the library from DNA they recovered in the hurricane's aftermath. They also thank Bruce and Sharon Waddell of Slidell, Louisiana, in whose home they lived after Katrina, and where "our laboratory was resurrected in part from the dining room table"; as well as Carol Burdsal and other colleagues at Tulane University, where they temporarily set up a new lab. Robert Palazzo of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a longtime visiting investigator at the MBL, is acknowledged for providing the centrosome preparation for the original RNA extractions as well as advice and encouragement. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health as well as post-Katrina emergency recovery funds from the Society for Developmental Biology.
Marine Biological Laboratory
Centrosome News and Current Centrosome Events RSS'Network' approach identifies potential breast cancer susceptibility gene
Like a crossword-puzzle solver who uses the letters in some answers to figure out others, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an international group of collaborators have used data on genes involved in inherited forms of breast cancer to identify a gene linked to non-hereditary cases of the disease.
LSUHSC research finds evidence of RNA in structures essential to cell division
Research led by Mark Alliegro, PhD, Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at New Orleans, provides evidence for the first time that centrosomes, which play a key role in cell division, may carry their own genetic machinery, answering a controversial question of long standing.
RNA found in the cellular centrosome of surf clams
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole and Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center have discovered the presence of the genetic material RNA in the centrosome, the organizing structure inside each cell that assures proper cell division.
MBL Scientists Find Evidence of RNA in Organelle Essential to Cell Division
Despite more than a century of study, scientists know relatively little about the inner workings of centrosomes—organelles essential to cell division in humans and animals.
UCSD researchers link novel mutated gene to meal retardation and imbalance
The research team, directed by Joseph Gleeson, M.D., Director of the Neurogenetics Laboratory at the UCSD School of Medicine and associate professor in the Department of Neurosciences, have identified a new gene that, when mutated, leads to JSRD.
Double trouble: Cells with duplicate genomes can trigger tumors
Abnormal cell division that yields cells with an extra set of chromosomes can initiate the development of tumors in mice, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown, validating a controversial theory about cancer causation put forth by a scientific visionary nearly 100 years ago.
Unmasking the "Foreman" Of The Golgi Apparatus
The cell is a highly organized factory where each constituent has its place and a role to play. If one piece of this machinery falters, the whole cell is imperiled. The least anomaly may result in an uncontrolled cell likely to engender a variety of diseases, such as cancers. At the Institut Curie, CNRS researchers, in collaboration with a group at the University of Seville, have just shown that the protein GMAP-210 is the "foreman" essential to maintenance of the integrity and localization of the Golgi apparatus at the heart of the cell. This discovery, published in the August 6 issue of Cell, should enhance our understanding of how the cellular machinery works. The cell is a miniature fac
Chromosomal chaos in early embryonic development is linked to abnormalities in cytokinesis and spindle formation
Berlin, Germany: Abnormalities in the spindles (the bi-polar thread like structures that link and pull the chromosomes during cell division) of human embryos before implantation may be the primary reason for many of the chromosome defects observed in early human development, a scientist said on Wednesday 30 June 2004 at the 20th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. Dr. Katerina Chatzimeletiou, from the Bridge Fertility Centre, London, UK, told the conference that her research had shown for the first time that such abnormalities occur throughout the development of the pre-implantation embryo. "Use of the diagnostic technique fluo
More Centrosome News Articles
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |