New Insights On 'Jumping Genes'

[Guest guest]

New Insights On 'Jumping Genes'

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/84950.php

Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) has announced that Dr. Animesh Ray,

KGI professor and director of KGI's PhD program, has published a

paper in the international online journal PLoS ONE that sheds new

light on the evolution of moveable genetic elements, or " jumping

genes. "

" We have known for some time that some genes can move from one place

to another within the genome, " said President Sheldon Schuster, PhD,

KGI's president. " Dr. Ray's research provides evidence that this

movement of genes does not cause instability at the point from which

the gene moves. This discovery has important implications for our

understanding of molecular evolution and genetic research involving

plants, including genetically modified crops. These findings take us

closer, for example, to more precisely predicting the changes a

drought-resistant jumping gene from one plant put into another may

cause to the DNA. "

Using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, Ray and his students studied

the " footprint " that is left behind when a jumping gene moves to

another locus. They devised a test for examining these footprints

that revealed a mechanism for the broken DNA at the launching pad

region (the original location of the jumping gene) to join together

to repair the vacant area. The results indicated that the DNA

repaired itself in a manner that did not produce drastic

abnormalities.

Ray characterized the genomic DNA as " smart " for repairing itself in

a manner that doesn't produce drastic abnormalities. He also said

that the process of repairing is " ancient " because the mechanism

appears similar to that used by the immune system of mammals.

Ancestors of plants and mammals diverged early in evolution, at

least 1.5 billion years ago.

The findings of Ray, his students beth Langer and Lynn Sniderhan

from the University of Rochester and co-author Ueli Grossniklaus,

professor at the University of Zurich, were reported in the

paper " Transposon Excision from an Atypical Site: A Mechanism of

Evolution of Novel Transposable Elements. " The work extends theories

of the renowned cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock, who originally

discovered moveable genetic elements. Ray's research also follows on

the work of molecular geneticist Enrico Coen who has examined

implications of moveable genes in plants and first proposed a

similar mechanism of chromosome healing.

Ray's laboratory conducts research in systems biology, and he

teaches courses that include the logic and methods of gene function

discovery and their applications to human therapeutics. He is a

pioneer in computing with molecules and designed the first

artificial logic circuits with DNA. He previously conducted research

at the Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, and at

the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ray earned his PhD in microbial genetics from Monash University in

Melbourne, Australia. Previously he was a faculty member at the

University of Rochester and at the University of California, San

Diego.

KGI Background

Educating the future leaders of the bioscience industry, Keck

Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate

education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS) degree program and

its Ph.D. program in Applied Life Sciences. Using team-based

learning and real-world projects, KGI's innovative curriculum

seamlessly combines applied life sciences, bioengineering, bioethics

and business management. KGI also has a robust research program

concentrating on the translation of basic discoveries in the life

sciences into applications that can benefit society. KGI is a member

of The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.