The underestimated mutation potential of retrogenes

Genetic information is stored in DNA and transcribed as mRNA. The mRNA is usually translated into proteins. However, it has long been known that mRNA can also be reverse transcribed to DNA and integrated back into the genome. ...

Bread mould avoids infection by mutating its own DNA

Whilst most organisms try to stop their DNA from mutating, scientists from the UK and China have discovered that a common fungus found on bread actively mutates its own DNA as a way of fighting virus-like infections.

Scientists optimize prime editing for rice and wheat

Many genetic and breeding studies have shown that point mutations and indels (insertions and deletions) can alter elite traits in crop plants. Although nuclease-initiated homology-directed repair (HDR) can generate such changes, ...

SNIPRs take aim at disease-related mutations

A typo appearing in the draft of a novel is no great calamity. Nature, however, is often less forgiving of errors. A change in just one letter of the genetic code can have catastrophic consequences for human health.

DNA base editing induces substantial off-target RNA mutations

In a study published in Nature on June 10, researchers from Dr. Yang Hui's Lab at the Institute of Neuroscience of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and collaborators from the CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational ...

Minor genetic change creates unattractive female moths

Sex pheromones are chemical compounds released by an organism to attract potential mates. For moths in particular these sex pheromones are very important for mate recognition, as they rely completely on scent signal rather ...

Bioinformaticians examine new genes the moment they are born

Accumulating evidence suggests that new genes can arise spontaneously from previously non-coding DNA instead of through the gradual mutation of established genes. Bioinformaticians at the University of Münster (Germany) ...

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