Newly-Discovered 'Borg' DNA Is Unlike Anything Scientists Have Ever Seen [View all]

[Jilly_in_VA]

Scientists have discovered DNA sequences in wetland soil that are unlike anything ever found and which could have “important and unanticipated climate implications,” according to a new preprint study co-authored by a Nobel Prize Laureate, among other genomics researchers.

The authors of the new paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, named these genetic elements “Borgs” after the recurring villains in Star Trek, because they assimilate genes from other organisms.

Borgs are extrachromosomal elements, meaning that these DNA sequences are found outside the chromosomes that lie within the nucleus of most cells and that contain the majority of an organism’s genetic material. Examples of extrachromosomal elements include plasmids, which can replicate outside of a host’s chromosomes, and some viruses.

Exactly what Borgs are remains a mystery at this point, but it is clear that they share genes and proteins with organisms that oxidize methane, called methanotrophs, that belong to the genus Methanoperedens, suggesting that they acquired these elements through past gene transfers. Methanotrophs are of immense interest to climate change researchers because they reduce atmospheric emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to rising global temperatures.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/88ndvp/newly-discovered-borg-dna-is-unlike-anything-scientists-have-ever-seen