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Excerpt from scitechdaily.com
Columbia researchers discovered that bacteria can create free-floating, temporary genes outside their chromosomes, challenging the long-held belief that all genetic instructions are contained within the genome. This finding opens the possibility that similar genes could exist in humans, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of genetics and gene editing.
Columbia researchers found that bacteria create temporary, free-floating genes outside their genome, a breakthrough that could reshape genetics and gene therapy.
Since the genetic code was first deciphered in the 1960s, our genes have appeared like an open book. By interpreting our chromosomes as linear sequences of letters, akin to sentences in a novel, we can identify the genes within our genome and understand how changes in a gene’s code influence health.
This linear rule of life was thought to govern all forms of life—from humans down to bacteria.
But a new study by Columbia University researchers shows that bacteria break that rule and can create free-floating and ephemeral genes, raising the possibility that similar genes exist outside of our own genome.
“What this discovery upends is the notion that the chromosome has the complete set of instructions that cells use to produce proteins,” says Samuel Sternberg, associate professor of biochemistry & molecular biology at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, who led the research with Stephen Tang, an MD/PhD student at the medical school.
