The human genome and the endowments of genes in other animals and plants are like a deck of poker cards containing a "wild card" that in a genetic sense introduces an element of variety and surprise that has a key role in life. That's what scientists are describing in a review of more than 100 studies on the topic that appears in ACS Chemical Biology.
Rahul Kohli and colleagues focus on cytosine, one of the four chemical "bases" that comprise the alphabet that the genetic material DNA uses to spell out everything from hair and eye color to risk of certain diseases. But far from just storing information, cytosine has acquired a number of other functions that give it a claim to being the genome's wild card. "In poker, the rules of the game can occasionally change," they note in the article. "Adding a 'wild card' to the mix introduces a new degree of variety and presents opportunities for a skilled player to steal the pot. Given that evolution is governed by the same principles of risk and reward that are common to a poker game, it is perhaps not surprising that a genomic 'wild card' has an integral role in biology."
Read more at Science Daily
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