Birds in focus: Micro-RNA ensures the survival of male embryos!

Birds in focus: Micro-RNA ensures the survival of male embryos!

Scientists at the University of Heidelberg have published groundbreaking findings about the genetic regulation in birds that ensures the survival of male embryos. The research in the journalNaturepublished shows how microRNA plays a crucial role in regulating Z chromosome activity, thereby helping to correct genetic imbalances between the sexes. The research team specifically studied chickens to understand how birds resolve the genetic imbalance.

In mammals, the study found, the male's Y chromosome and the female's two X chromosomes represent a formal language that has suffered a great deal of loss of genetic material. Females compensate for this imbalance by intensifying X chromosome activity and switching off one of the two X chromosomes. However, in birds, which have two Z chromosomes in males and one Z and one W chromosome in females, the loss of genetic material is offset by increased activity of important genes on the Z chromosome.

The role of microRNA

Using gene editing, the researchers removed the microRNA and observed the effects on the development of the embryos. Male embryos lacking the microRNA did not survive, while females developed normally. MicroRNA, which has a long history of study and whose first form was discovered in 1993, is particularly pronounced in birds. Not only is it a key regulator in the development of male life, but it is also found in many other birds more than in other animals.”

It turned out that microRNA plays an essential role in regulating overactive genes on the male Z chromosomes. This finding could be important for further research and leaves open questions about how microRNAs could be used in other animal species. In mammals and humans, miRNAs have a role in gene regulation and play key roles in development, from neurogenesis to hematopoiesis. They can regulate genes and carry out gene silencing, which underlines their relevance for medical research.

Evolutionary perspectives

The results of the study show how evolutionarily important microRNAs are for different animal species and shed light on the common mechanism by which birds and other organisms correct genetic imbalances. Researchers from several countries, including Germany, Scotland and China, collaborated to gain these new insights, which could have far-reaching consequences for understanding biological diversity and the evolutionary development of gender identities.

In conclusion, this research shows how tiny genes such as microRNAs are not only crucial for the survival of a sex, but also expand the understanding of the genetic basis of sex and development in the animal world.

The comprehensive results were supported by various institutions, including the European Research Council and the NOMIS Foundation, and represent a significant step in genetics that will be important for future studies. Heidelberg reports that this knowledge could contribute to the development of new therapeutic approaches in medicine, particularly with regard to genetic diseases that affect gender unequally.

The study also illustrates the wide range and role of microRNAs in gene regulation. Loud Wikipedia They are highly conserved, non-coding ribonucleic acids that play a crucial role in gene regulation. These findings could also outline the pathways of gene silencing in future studies.

In summary, research shows that microRNAs are crucial to the survival of male birds and their evolutionary solutions to balance genetic imbalances are of great relevance to biological and genetic science. Nature highlights how these tiny genes can shape understandings of gender and development in nature.