Discover a new entity in the human microbiome: obelisks

2024/11/04 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Mikrobiologia
• Biologia

An international team led by Nobel laureate Andrew Fire has discovered a new entity in bacteria that live in the mouth and intestines of humans. They are circular RNA chains that have been called obelisks because of their appearance. They're simpler than viruses, which have about 1,000 nucleotides, and they don't have capacity. However, they encode the genes. Researchers investigate their role and influence on health.

The discovery has been made known through the journal 'Cell'. The researchers have explained that the findings have been carried out through bioinformatic studies of genetic sequences obtained from human excrement. With this method, it has also been searched in other samples, such as terrestrial, fluvial and marine ecosystems and animal microbioman, and a total of nearly 30,000 obelisks have been identified.

The discovery of obelisks has aroused new questions about the origin and evolution of microbiological diversity.