I Alexander SC

🔬🦠

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@elgoldblum Venía buscando este comentario. Opino lo mismo

[Nature Microbiology @NatureMicrobiol]

Benchmarking shotgun metagenomics https://t.co/1b54JHlpJN #MicroSky

[Nature Microbiology @NatureMicrobiol]

Benchmarking of shotgun sequencing depth reveals the potential and limitations of shallow metagenomics and strain-level analysis https://t.co/RUjn5dD1xg #MicroSky

[Trends in Microbiology @TrendsMicrobiol]

Cognition without brains? Learning and memory in microorganisms https://t.co/dqxgaLBX8G

[Prof. Nikolai Slavov @slavov_n]

Bacteria are full of diverse molecular tricks. This Science article reports an interesting one that is being misrepresented by news coverage, including the coverage in Science.

The study describes an enzyme complex that synthesizes alternating dinucleotide repeat DNA as part of an immune response. Protein templating DNA is a cool observation, even if the sequence is only a repeating dinucleotide.

The headline-grabbing takeaway is the mechanism of the Drt3b subunit. While its partner, Drt3a, uses a canonical RNA template (reverse transcription), Drt3b synthesizes the complementary strand in the absence of a nucleic acid template. Instead, it uses specific amino acid residues (a glutamate and an arginine) to stabilize and "select" the incoming dNTPs.

It is tempting to view this as a radical shift in our understanding of information transfer, a "protein-templated" genetic sequence. However, we should be cautious with the "paradigm shift" narrative.

Why this isn't "rewriting" the Genetic Code:
Despite claims in the news coverage, this finding does not represent a new form of hereditary information transfer. This is not a protein "reading" itself to create a complex message; rather, it is a highly specialized structural constraint. The protein is essentially a "stuttering" machine, physically keyed to produce a simple, repetitive sequence. The "information" is hard-coded into the protein's fold to perform a single, specific defensive task, rather than acting as a general-purpose template for diverse genetic messages.

The Parallel to tmRNA:
This observation is not entirely unprecedented when we look at how bacteria handle biochemical "dead ends." It reminds me of transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA). In trans-translation, when a ribosome stalls on a broken mRNA, the tmRNA molecule steps in to provide both the tRNA component and a short mRNA "tag" to rescue the ribosome:
- The "Non-Standard" Template: Much like tmRNA provides an external sequence to fix a stalled process, the DRT3 ncRNA and the Drt3b protein provide "internal" instructions to create DNA where no genomic template exists.
- Specialized Rescue: Both mechanisms are niche "emergency" responses, one for proteostasis (tmRNA) and one for viral defense (DRT3).

In the end, this discovery doesn't replace our understanding of the genetic code; it expands the "toolbox" of how cells can synthesize polynucleotides when the standard rules don't apply. It is a beautiful reminder that in the microbial world, if a chemical shortcut is possible, evolution has likely found it.

[Ming "Tommy" Tang @tangming2005]

Terminal Genome Viewer https://t.co/ppe3ckC5kp

Another one that is around for a while: ASCIIGenome https://t.co/pnrzu48qZo

[Trends in Microbiology @TrendsMicrobiol]

Micro-scale spatial metagenomics opens a new era in microbiome ecology https://t.co/cFBkw1Tz9M

[Nature Biotechnology @NatureBiotech]

Startups are providing tantalizing glimpses of AI-assisted antibody discovery and claiming game-changing potential, even as new models remain hidden and industry awaits full disclosure and benchmarking https://t.co/1jDJZYnyls
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[Nature Biotechnology @NatureBiotech]

Generalist biological artificial intelligence in modeling the language of life https://t.co/OdRmX2ms43

[OlvTools | RNA-Seq Data Analysis Software @OlvTools_en]

[RNA-Seq Data Analysis Software]

We have released RNA-Seq Data Analysis Software. With our software, you won't need to outsource or rely on collaborators. You can start analyzing data yourself right away, without the need for high-spec computers or knowledge of Linux commands.

[nature @Nature]

Nature research paper: Capturing dynamic phage–pathogen coevolution by clinical surveillance

https://t.co/pPXa66NDhg

[Oscar Arias @OACerebro]

Enjoy!

https://t.co/RKCakL3m1j

[ᗰ•ᗩ•ᒍ•ᗩ• 𝕏 @majatuitera]

Porfa compartan lo más que puedan, la visibilidad hace toda la diferencia 🙏🏻…

[Nature Reviews Genetics @NatureRevGenet]

New online! Epistasis and co-adaptation in bacterial genome evolution https://t.co/91ri3fQDPM

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@Juancamilo9110 @Lycantocles Entonces es demasiada apegada a los juegos jaja

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@AmargadoT @templo_del_geek Justo así se siente el juego no sé de qué hablas

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@ticketelhamster @zaynmalik Pero que ya no se vea intrépido comiendo botanas mexicanas

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@LorenaR79399 @CAPUFE Hola. Como están , hay algún avance?

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@hostofaghostt @CAPUFE @GN_Carreteras Como están? Mi familia quedó varada y no hemos recibido actualización. Han avanzado algo?

[I Alexander SC @I_AlexanderSC]

@Thousand_O @Lore1719 @maqueda_viviana @CAPUFE Espero que todo bien a ambos. Hay actualización ? Mi familia quedó barada y no creo que se les apagó sus celulares