Squid RNA edits linked to changes in protein function and location
RNA editing in longfin inshore squid was linked to a broad range of changes in protein behavior, ScienceAlert reports, citing a study published in Cell. By altering RNA instructions used to make proteins, the animals can produce proteins with different properties without changing their DNA, the researchers say.
A team led by bioscientists at the University of California, San Francisco examined nearly 8,000 editing sites across more than 2,000 proteins in the squid's optic lobe and gills. The comparison covered a brain region involved in vision and responses to visual information, alongside a respiratory organ.
According to ScienceAlert, the optic lobe showed more frequent and complex editing. The study investigated what those edits do to proteins, rather than simply cataloging changes in RNA.
Earlier work had linked squid RNA editing to communication in the central nervous system, potentially in response to environmental or physiological conditions. The article describes the broader functional consequences as relatively poorly understood before this study.
The team reported effects on protein activity, stability, location within cells and interactions with other proteins. Some edits also altered the RNA-editing proteins themselves, suggesting a form of self-regulation. Effects extended to organelles—specialized structures inside cells—with mitochondrial changes suggesting greater environmental stability and improved recycling.
The findings connect changes in protein-making instructions with several aspects of how squid cells work. But the enormous theoretical diversity of protein variants is not a measurement of actual production: researcher Jack Moen told ScienceAlert that how much of that diversity the animals produce remains unknown.
Sources
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