The present study examines the physiological alterations in prolactin (PRL) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and serum PRL levels during the rat estrous cycle and the effed of naloxone, an endogenous opioid peptide receptor antagonist, on PRL gene expression during the rat estrous cycle. Adult female rats exhibiting at least two consecutive 4-day estrous cycles were used in this study. A single injection of naloxone (2mg/kg b.w.) or saline was given sc 30 mm prior to decapitation. Animals were sacrificed (...) at 10:00 h of each stage of the estrous cycle, and at 2-h intervals from 10:00 h to 20:00 h during the proestrus. PRL mRNA and serum PRL levels were determined by an RNA-blot hybridization with the rat PRL cDNA probe and by a PRL radioimmunoassay, respectively. PRL mRNA and serum PRL levels were not dramatically altered in the morning of each stage of diestrus I, II, and proestrus, and naloxone failed to modify the two parameters. During estrus naloxone clearly suppressed serum PRL levels, but it was unable to modify PRL mRNA levels. A more detailed examination of the proestrus stage revealed that PRL mRNA and serum PRL levels fluctuated as a function of time: PRL mRNA levels reached a maximum level at 12:00 h and gradually decreased until 18:00 h. PRL mRNA levels then rose at 20:00 h. No difference in PRL mRNA levels between the control and naloxone-treated groups was observed. Changes in serum PRL level during proestrus were conversely related to changes in PRL mRNA: serum PRL levels were low from 10:00 h to 14:00 h, then increased and reached a maximum level at 16:00-18:00 h. Following then, serum PRL levels were decreased. Naloxone was effective in suppressing the characteristic afternoon surge of PRL from 16:00 h to 20:00 h. These data clearly showed that alterations in PRL mRNA levels were conversely correlated with changes in serum PRL levels on proestrus, indicating differential regulation of PRL gene expression and secretion. (shrink)

Within the sedimentation diagram of infective RNA preparations isolated from Tobacco Mosaic Virus, undegraded molecules form a sharp peak with a molecular weight corresponding to the total RNA content of the virus particle. Degradation kinetics by ribonuclease is of the linear, single-target type, indicating that the RNA is single-stranded. The intact RNA of a virus particle thus forms one big single-stranded molecule. Quantitative evaluation of the effect degradation by RNA-ase on the infectivity of the RNA shows that the integrity of (...) the entire molecule is required for its biological activity. (shrink)

RNA can catalyse chemical reactions through its ability to fold into complex three‐dimensional structures and to specifically bind small molecules and divalent metal ions. The 2′‐hydroxyl groups of the ribose moieties contribute to this exceptional reactivity of RNA, compared to DNA. RNA is not only able to catalyse phosphate ester transfer reactions in ribonucleic acids, but can also show aminoacyl esterase activity, and is probably able to promote peptide bond formation. Bearing its potential for functioning both as a genome (...) and as a gene product, RNA is suitable for in vitro evolution experiments enabling the selection of molecules with new properties. The growing repertoire of RNA catalysed reactions will establish RNA as a primordial molecule in the evolution of life. (shrink)

The fate of eukaryotic proteins, from their synthesis to destruction, is supervised by the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS). The UPS is the primary pathway responsible for selective proteolysis of intracellular proteins, which is guided by covalent attachment of ubiquitin to target proteins by E1 (activating), E2 (conjugating), and E3 (ligating) enzymes in a process known as ubiquitylation. The UPS can also regulate protein synthesis by influencing multiple steps of RNA (ribonucleic acid) metabolism. Here, recent publications concerning the interplay between (...) the UPS and different types of RNA are reviewed. This interplay mainly involves specific RNA‐binding E3 ligases that link RNA‐dependent processes with protein ubiquitylation. The emerging understanding of their modes of RNA binding, their RNA targets, and their molecular and cellular functions are primarily focused on. It is discussed how the UPS adapted to interact with different types of RNA and how RNA molecules influence the ubiquitin signaling components. (shrink)

In organisms, ribonucleic acid plays an essential role. Its function is being discovered more and more. Due to the conserved nature of RNA sequences, its function mainly depends on the RNA secondary structure. The discovery of an approximate relationship between two RNA secondary structures helps to understand their functional relationship better. It is an important and urgent task to explore structural similarities from the graphical representation of RNA secondary structures. In this paper, a novel graphical analysis method based (...) on the triple vector curve representation of RNA secondary structures is proposed. A combinational method involving a discrete wavelet transform and fractal dimension with sliding window is introduced to analyze and compare the graphs derived from feature extraction; after that, the distance matrix is generated. Then, the distance matrix is analyzed by clustering and visualized as a clustering tree. RNA virus and noncoding RNA datasets are applied to perform experiments and analyze the clustering tree. The results show that the proposed method yields more accurate results in the comparison of RNA secondary structures. (shrink)

The universally recognized backbone of molecular biology describes the flow of genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to ribonucleic acid (RNA) to protein or gene product, that is, DNA is transcribed into another nucleic acid (RNA), which is single stranded, next some types of RNA are in turn translated into proteins. Translation of nucleic acids to proteins is literally a translation from the genomic language to the metabolic language. Codons formed of a sequence of three nucleic (...) acids summon a specific amino acid. Translation from codons to proteins, that is, protein synthesis, takes place by specialized machinery comprising mRNA, ribosomes, and free amino acids. Inferring the structure of DNA opened the door for tremendous advances in understanding the role of genes in creating life, directing replication, and ongoing metabolic processes responsible for maintaining life at both the cellular and organism level. (shrink)

Life on earth is bound together by a common heritage, centered around a molecule that is present in almost every living cell of every living creature. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), composed of four base pairs, the nucleic acids thymine, adenine, cytosine, and guanine, encodes the data that directs, in conjunction with the environment, the development and metabolism of all nondependent living creatures. Except for some viruses that rely only on ribonucleic acid (RNA), all living things are built by (...) the interaction of DNA and RNA within cells and their environments. There is no worldwide consensus yet as to whether portions of the human genome should be granted intellectual property protection, as indeed they are in the United States and a number of other nations. DNA posed numerous challenges to the legal framework for patent protection and may suggest developing an entirely new social and legal category recognizing its uniqueness. (shrink)

Abstract.Arthur Peacocke was one of the most important scholars to contribute to the modern dialogue on science and religion, and for this he is remembered in the science‐religion community. Many people, however, are unaware of his exceptional career as a biochemist prior to his decision to pursue a life working as a clergyman in the Church of England. His contributions to studies of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) structure, effects of radiation damage on DNA, and on the interactions of DNA and (...) proteins are among the most important in the field at the time and have had a lasting scientific impact that is still felt today. Peacocke's arguments with Jacques Monod over stochastic (chance) and deterministic (necessity) processes driving evolution became important independently for both the science and the religion communities and appear to have contributed significantly to his decision to become involved in science‐religion dialogue rather than continuing his work exclusively in the field of science. Nevertheless, although Peacocke took on an active church life and ceased his experimental work, he never left science but continued to read the scientific literature and published a scientific review on different approaches in defining DNA structure as recently as 2005. (shrink)

Open theism denies that God has definite exhaustive foreknowledge, and affirms that God takes certain risks when creating the universe. Critics of open theism often complain that the risks are too high. Perhaps there is something morally wrong with God taking a risk in creating a universe with an open future. Open theists have tried to respond by clarifying how much risk is involved in God creating an open universe, though we argue that it remains unclear how much risk is (...) actually involved. We claim that open theists need to start developing theories about how God manages risks in order to bring about His purposes for the universe. In this article, we will take a philosophical and biological perspective on risk management that adds plausibility to open theism. We will consider how God can use different risk‐management, surveillance, and redundancy systems in the natural world in order to accomplish His goals. (shrink)

In the last 10 years, we have witnessed a blooming of targeted genome editing systems and applications. The area was revolutionized by the discovery and characterization of the transcription activator‐like effector proteins, which are easier to engineer to target new DNA sequences than the previously available DNA binding templates, zinc fingers and meganucleases. Recently, the area experimented a quantum leap because of the introduction of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)‐associated protein (Cas) system (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic (...) sequence). This ribonucleoprotein complex protects bacteria from invading DNAs, and it was adapted to be used in genome editing. The CRISPR ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule guides to the specific DNA site the Cas9 nuclease to cleave the DNA target. Two years and more than 1000 publications later, the CRISPR‐Cas system has become the main tool for genome editing in many laboratories. Currently the targeted genome editing technology has been used in many fields and may be a possible approach for human gene therapy. Furthermore, it can also be used to modifying the genomes of model organisms for studying human pathways or to improve key organisms for biotechnological applications, such as plants, livestock genome as well as yeasts and bacterial strains. (shrink)