The mastermind of the deep
The genetic rulebreakers
Jumping genes in the deep
Rewriting the future on the fly
YOUR GOAL
Master of The secret genetics of octopus intelligence
007skaty Octopus RNA Editing Tradeoff
They edit their RNA to change when waters freeze, But lock their DNA to keep those editing keys.
007skaty While DNA normally transcribes to RNA to build proteins, octopuses edit their RNA to change protein function without altering underlying DNA.
007skaty Bridge the genetic gaps to discover how ancient DNA shaped octopus intelligence.
Unedited cousins: The nautilus, a primitive cousin of the octopus that lacks its famous intelligence, does not perform high levels of RNA editing.
Any predatory marine mollusk of the class Cephalopoda, characterized by a distinct head and tentacles. In 2022, biologist Caroline Albertin co-authored a study showing these organisms possess highly scrambled genomes.
According to a landmark 2017 study, in which scientific journal was the massive RNA editing of octopuses published?
What is the genetic process of altering an RNA sequence to produce a new protein called?
What percentage of their genetic messages do humans edit compared to the 50% edited by octopuses?