Does the central dogma still stand?

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Genetics
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Prions are protein-based inheritance agents conferring beneficial phenotypes, particularly under cellular stress.
• Prion-mediated inheritance can integrate with genetic variation, leading to stable, prion-independent genomic inheritance.
• Recent screenings indicate prions are prevalent, especially in fungal species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of prions in information flow from proteins to the genome.
• To explore how prion-mediated heredity challenges the Central Dogma of molecular biology.
• To understand the contribution of epigenetic variation to genetic adaptation and evolution.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of prion prevalence through screening studies.
• Theoretical examination of prion-mediated inheritance mechanisms.
• Comparative analysis of protein-based and genetic inheritance.

Main Results:

• Prions facilitate a non-negligible flow of information from proteins to the genome, violating the Central Dogma.
• Prion-mediated heredity represents a radical form of epigenetic variation assimilation into genetic variation.
• Epigenetic variation, including prions, can precede and facilitate genetic adaptation via a 'look-ahead effect'.

Conclusions:

• The flow of information from proteins to the genome via prions is a significant biological phenomenon.
• Prion-mediated heredity contributes to the evolution of complex adaptive traits and environment-genome interactions.
• This mechanism highlights a broader pathway for epigenetic variation to influence genetic adaptation, challenging traditional molecular biology paradigms.