Publications - Published papers
Please find below publications of our group. Currently, we list 565 papers. Some of the publications are in collaboration with the group of Sonja Prohaska and are also listed in the publication list for her individual group. Access to published papers (
) is restricted to our local network and chosen collaborators.
If you have problems accessing electronic information, please let us know:
) is restricted to our local network and chosen collaborators.
If you have problems accessing electronic information, please let us know:©NOTICE: All papers are copyrighted by the authors; If you would like to use all or a portion of any paper, please contact the author.
Hypothesis for the modern RNA world: a pervasive non-coding RNA-based genetic regulation is a prerequisite for the emergence of multicellular complexity
Irma Lozada-Chávez, Peter F. Stadler, Sonja J. Prohaska
Download
Status: Published
Orig Life Evol Biosph. 41: 587-607 (2011)
Abstract
The transitions to multicellularity mark the most pivotal and distinctive events in
life’s history on Earth. Although several transitions to “simple” multicellularity (SM) have
been recorded in both bacterial and eukaryotic clades, transitions to complex multicellularity
(CM) have only happened a few times in eukaryotes. A large number of cell types
(associated with large body size), increased energy consumption per gene expressed, and
an increment of non-protein-coding DNA positively correlate with CM. These three factors can indeed be understood as the causes and consequences of the regulation of gene expression. Here, we discuss how a vast expansion of non-protein-coding RNA (ncRNAs) regulators rather than large numbers of novel protein regulators can easily
contribute to the emergence of CM. We also propose that the evolutionary advantage
of RNA-based gene regulation derives from the robustness of the RNA structure that
makes it easy to combine genetic drift with functional exploration. We describe a
model which aims to explain how the evolutionary dynamic of ncRNAs becomes
dominated by the accessibility of advantageous mutations to innovate regulation in
complex multicellular organisms. The information and models discussed here outline
the hypothesis that pervasive ncRNA-based regulatory systems, only capable of being
expanded and explored in higher eukaryotes, are prerequisite to complex multicellularity.
Thereby, regulatory RNA molecules in Eukarya have allowed intensification of
morphological complexity by stabilizing critical phenotypes and controlling developmental
precision. Although the origin of RNA on early Earth is still controversial, it is
becoming clear that once RNA emerged into a protocellular system, its relevance
within the evolution of biological systems has been greater than we previously thought.
Keywords
Modern RNA world . Multicellular complexity . Eukaryote evolution . Genome complexity . Non-coding RNA . Gene regulation