He..he..
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Web address:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/
101201144612.htm
Plant Clock Gene Also Works in Human Cells
ScienceDaily (Dec. 1, 2010) A gene that controls part of the 'tick tock' in a
plant's circadian clock has been identified by UC Davis researchers. And not
only is the plant gene very similar to one in humans, but the human gene can
work in plant cells -- and vice versa. The research is published this week in
the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"It's surprising to find a clock gene that is performing the same function
across such widely unrelated groups," said Stacey Harmer, associate professor
of plant biology in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences and senior
author on the paper.
Major groups of living things -- plants, animals and fungi -- all have
circadian clocks that work in similar ways but are built from different pieces,
Harmer said. The newly identified gene is an exception to that.
Harmer and UC Davis postdoctoral scholar Matthew Jones, with colleagues at Rice
University in Houston and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La
Jolla, identified the "Jumonji-containing domain 5 gene," or JMJD5, from the
lab plant Arabidopsis by screening existing databases for genes that were
switched on along with the central plant clock gene, TOC1.
JMJD5 stood out. The protein made by the gene can carry out chemical
modification of the histone proteins around which DNA is wrapped, and can
likely regulate how genes are turned on and off -- potentially making it part
of a clock oscillator.
When Harmer and colleagues made Arabidopsis plants with a deficient gene, they
found that the plants' in-built circadian clock ran fast.
A similar gene is found in humans, and human cells with a deficiency in this
gene also have a fast-running clock. When the researchers inserted the plant
gene into the defective human cells, they could set the clock back to normal --
and the human gene could do the same trick in plant seedlings.
Because the rest of the clock genes are quite different between plants and
humans, Harmer thinks that the fact that a very similar gene has the same
function in both plants and humans is probably an example of convergent
evolution, rather than something handed down from a distant common ancestor.
Convergent evolution is when two organisms arrive at the same solution to a
problem but apparently from different starting points.
Maintaining accurate circadian rhythms is hugely important to living things,
from maintaining sleep/wake cycles in animals to controlling when plants flower.
The other coauthors on the study are Michael Covington, assistant professor at
Rice University; and postdoctoral scholar Luciano DiTacchio, graduate student
Christopher Vollmers and Assistant Professor Satchidananda Panda at the Salk
Institute. The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of
Health.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis
or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of
ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily
staff) from materials provided by University of California - Davis.
Journal Reference:
1. M. A. Jones, M. F. Covington, L. DiTacchio, C. Vollmers, S. Panda, S. L.
Harmer. Jumonji domain protein JMJD5 functions in both the plant and human
circadian systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010; DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1014204108
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the
following formats:
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MLA
University of California - Davis (2010, December 1). Plant clock gene also
works in human cells. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/12/101201144612.htm
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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