Scientists say they have observed a jumping gene transferring between species through circular RNA, according to ScienceDaily and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology. The discovery points to a possible route for mobile genetic elements beyond the plasmids and viruses researchers had long suspected.
Jumping genes are pieces of DNA that can move within and sometimes between cells, and they are found across bacteria, plants, animals and humans. In this study, Jens Harder and colleagues examined a methane-producing microbial community that included a small predatory bacterium, Candidatus Velamenicoccus archaeovorus.
The team focused on dead cells of Methanothrix soehngenii, a major methane producer, after suspecting the predator was responsible for killing them. Using sensitive probes developed at the institute, the researchers detected intron RNA in both living predator cells and the dead prey cells.
According to the researchers, the intron RNA survived because it forms a circular molecule with no open ends, which helps protect it from breakdown. Harder said the study shows that in microorganisms, jumping genes can be transferred to other species via circular RNA.
