From ScienceAlert · Ivan Farkas · · 1m
Squid Genetic Flexibility Shatters Alien Comparison
Squid can rewrite their own proteins without changing DNA, making them more alien-like than we thought.
In brief
Squid can rewrite their own proteins without changing DNA, making them more alien-like than we thought. Squid use RNA editing to create new proteins without altering DNA, showing unmatched genetic flexibility. Originally reported by ScienceAlert.
Squid's Alien Intelligence
Squid may be as close to alien intelligence as we'll ever know with a diverse evolutionary lineage from a different world.
“Cephalopods like squids may be as close to an alien intelligence as we'll ever know, with a diverse evolutionary lineage from a wholly different world beneath the waves”
RNA Editing Process
Humans and other animals constantly undergo reversible transcriptomic remixing through adenosine deaminase acting on RNA or ADAR-mediated RNA editing.
“this is like printing a recipe but changing raisins to chocolate chips right before handing it to the baker”
Squid's Unmatched RNA Editing
Coleoid cephalopods including squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish have the most robust ADAR-editing ability among animals.
“No other creatures may do this as well as coleoid cephalopods, which include the smart and squishy squid, octopus, and cuttlefish, and it's not even close”
Protein Recoding Effects
Squid RNA editing alters protein activity, stability, localization, and interactions with other proteins.
“We found effects on protein activity, stability, localization, and even how they interact with other proteins. The downstream effects even go so far as to regulate organelle health”
Mitochondrial Adaptation
Squid mitochondria become more environmentally stable and better at recycling themselves through protein recoding.
“Actually, the researchers found that this recoding may make squid mitochondria more similar to human mitochondria: more environmentally stable and better able to recycle themselves”
Theoretical Protein Diversity
Squid could theoretically create more protein variants than all stars, planets, and super-alcohol clouds in the universe combined.
“If we look at all of the sites identified in the RNA sequencing data, it brings the theoretical estimate closer to 10²⁴⁸”
What it means
Squid use RNA editing to create new proteins without altering DNA, showing unmatched genetic flexibility.
