Photo: Mitochondrium, SkieTheAce, Pixabay
Does evolution know the paths of the past and future? That’s possible according to new research published in ,,Cell”. How? By tracking the transport of signals and nutrients inside a cell.
The mitochondrion is a cell organelle with a separate from the cell nucleus genetic material inherited only from a female line. The body serves as a powerhouse for cells enabling proper functioning of either specific cell lines forming organs or the whole organism. There are theories the organelle is a footprint of the origin of life and thus the tiniest and the most important proof of evolution.
Mysterial connection with life
How? Due to its constitution from a more primordial and prior organism which could have given the beginning of eukaryote cell shape and ingredients that all latter life contains in bodies including humans. But there is something more. Microtubules that emerged in prehistoric selected bodies and eukaryote cells are responsible for transport processes within the cell and, what is of significant importance, the code they posses is in charge of the segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Mistakes during this process called mitosis may be costly for health and threaten life of the organism. Some of them we can cure nowadays dependently on how much harm and in which location occurred. Some of them remain impossible to fix or we can only alleviate the consequences of those mistakes.
However, according to Swizterland-based scientists, the key is the cytoskeleton, an essential step in the evolution of eukaryote cells. And these are microtubules and tubuline proteins enabling action that, among all keep the cell organelles in dedicated locations within the structure. What’s fascinating the key to ensuring the stable functioning of the entire machinery is an adequate and stable binding of adenosine-triphosphate, a chemical energy that is then absorbed by microtubules and the tubuline protein for exchange inside.
This remarkable cytoskeleton was probably at the beginning of the development of the eukaryotic cell,
says Jingwei Xu of the University of Zurich
The significance of the newly published study lies in its ability to establish a foundation for future research, potentially leading to solutions for increasingly disrupted evolutionary mechanisms. How might this be achieved? One possibility is to integrate chemical and biological processes that are influenced by their underlying strengths. However, this is merely a speculative suggestion.
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