RNA Inheritance of Acquired Characters #GMO RNA not only registers epigenetic change as the organism responds to the environment, it also transmits acquired genetic information to subsequent generations independently of DNA, highlighting the potential perils of using RNA interference in #GMOs. By Dr Mae-Wan Ho ...Numerous species of RNA encoded in the genome, or independent of the genome, are playing crucial roles in epigenetic inheritance including the transmission of viral resistance, silencing of transposons and other foreign genes as well as in the acquisition and maintenance of actively transcribed genes. Known mechanisms such as RNA interference, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, RNA methylation, and RNA memory interact with one another and with proteins and chromatin in circular, mutually reinforcing networks, greatly expanding the conventional notion of genetic information and further blurring the distinction between epigenetic and genetic inheritance. This further underscores the perils of all forms of artificial genetic modification, especially those involving RNA interference, complex and flexible in the context of natural genetic modification (see [11] New GM Nightmares with RNA, SiS 58; [12] RNA Interference Complex and Flexible, SiS 59), and definitely beyond the control of the artificial process.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:47:07 +0000
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