(Press-News.org)
An international research team led by Hiroki Shibuya at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan has solved a genetic mystery and revealed a previously unknown way that DNA can control what cells do. Published in Science on Oct 23, the study reveals that in the roundworm C. elegans, vital RNA needed to keep the ends of chromosomes intact does not have its own gene. Instead, it hitchhikes inside another one. DNA hitchhiking could be a common strategy in the animal kingdom, and has implications for anti-aging therapies and regenerative medicine in humans.
Telomeres are DNA caps that protect the ends of chromosomes, much like the plastic tips of shoelaces. As we age, the cells of our bodies—called somatic cells—divide when we need new tissue, and every time that happens the telomeres lose some of their DNA. Some signs of aging are related to this process. For example, skin cells with shorter telomeres make less collogen and skin become wrinkled. When they are too short, cells self-destruct.
Sperm and egg precursor cells—collectively called germ cells—are an exception to this rule. When they divide, an enzyme called telomerase adds replacement DNA to the ends of shortened telomeres. Because of this, telomere length doesn’t get shorter with each generation, and species do not become extinct. Telomerase contains an RNA template that is used to make the replacement DNA. In humans and other mammals, this RNA comes from the TERC gene. C. elegans has working telomerase, but it doesn’t seem to have a TERC gene. This mystery has stumped scientists for more than 20 years, and some have assumed that the gene was lost during evolution. In their study, the team at RIKEN BDR discovered how C. elegans can exist without a standalone TERC gene.
Because telomerase levels are normally very low, the researchers genetically engineered C. elegans to overproduce the telomerase protein, which made it possible to collect large amounts of the whole telomerase complex, including the RNA template. They then used all the collected template RNA to search the genome for matching DNA. Unlike in mammals, instead of being located in its own gene, they found it inside another gene’s intron. Usually, the instructions in DNA within genes are used to build proteins. But some parts of genes, called introns, are not used to build proteins and are usually removed and discarded once the gene’s protein is made.
“It was surprising to find that the key RNA—which we have named terc-1—was hidden inside an intron of the gene called nmy-2, which is expressed only in germ cells,” says Shibuya. “Indeed, the discovery that the essential telomerase RNA was hidden within an intron was completely unexpected.”
Experiments showed that in C. elegans lacking terc-1, telomeres became shorter each generation, and within 15 generations, the animals became extinct. Inserting terc-1 inside introns of other genes that are expressed in germ cells created roundworms that had normal telomeres and did not become extinct. In contrast, when terc-1 was inserted into introns of genes that only activate in somatic cells, the animals did become extinct. Thus, by hitching a ride inside genes activated in germ cells, terc-1 is produced where it is needed—the germ cells. There, it helps ensures that future generations do not receive shortened telomeres, thus supporting the survival of the species.
Is this a unique instance of a functional RNA located in an intron and regulated by the host gene? The researchers do not think so. “Although we discovered this intron hitchhiking strategy in C. elegans, similar mechanisms are likely used by other non-coding RNAs or exist across different species,” says Shibuya. “This method of embedding RNAs so that the timing and location of their expression are automatically controlled by the host gene points to a broader principle in biology.”
“Beyond its evolutionary significance, this discovery will help us better understand how telomerase is regulated in healthy cells and could transform approaches to aging, fertility, and regenerative medicine.”
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SOMERVILLE, Mass., October 23, 2025 – Cellarity, a biotechnology company developing Cell State-Correcting therapies through integrated multi-omics and AI modeling, today announced the publication of a seminal manuscript in the journal Science, which articulates a framework for the integration of advanced transcriptomic datasets and AI models to improve drug discovery.
Cellarity designs novel therapeutics for complex diseases by focusing on the interplay of pathway connections and interactions that define and modulate cellular states. The company has built ...
ITHACA, N.Y. - Peatlands make up just 3% of the earth’s land surface but store more than 30% of the world’s soil carbon, preserving organic matter and sequestering its carbon for tens of thousands of years. A new study sounds the alarm that an extreme drought event could quadruple peatland carbon loss in a warming climate.
In the study, published Oct. 23 in Science, researchers find that, under conditions that mimic a future climate (with warmer temperatures and elevated carbon dioxide), extreme drought dramatically increases the release of carbon in peatlands by nearly three ...
For decades, many scientists believed dinosaurs were already dwindling in number and variety long before an asteroid strike sealed their fate 66 million years ago. But new research in the journal Science from Baylor University, New Mexico State University, The Smithsonian Institution and an international team is rewriting that story.
The dinosaurs, it turns out, were not fading away. They were flourishing.
A final flourish in the San Juan Basin
In northwestern New Mexico, layers of rock preserve a hidden chapter of Earth’s history. In the Naashoibito Member of the Kirtland ...
University of Queensland researchers have made a microscopic ‘ocean’ on a silicon chip to miniaturise the study of wave dynamics.
The device, made at UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics, uses a layer of superfluid helium only a few millionths of a millimetre thick on a chip smaller than a grain of rice.
Dr Christopher Baker said it was the world’s smallest wave tank, with the quantum properties of superfluid helium allowing it to flow without resistance, unlike classical fluids such as water, which become immobilised by viscosity at such small scales.
“The study of how fluids move has ...
Embargoed: 23 October 19:00 UK / 14:00 US Eastern Times
Peer-reviewed / Experimental / Mosquito genomics
ORIGINS OF THE ‘LONDON UNDERGROUND MOSQUITO’ UNCOVERED, SHEDDING LIGHT ON WEST NILE VIRUS TRANSMISSION
Subtitle for website: International researchers disprove theory about the evolution of urban mosquito species.
New research has uncovered the ancient origins of an urban mosquito species, Culex pipiens form molestus, also known as the ‘London Underground mosquito’ – disproving a long-held theory of when it first evolved.
Published today (23 October) in Science, ...
Biological invasions occur when non-native or exotic species colonize new geographic regions, often to the detriment of local plants and animals. Today, human action contributes significantly to invasion processes, allowing species to bridge vast distances and enter new habitats at a highly accelerated rate. This makes it increasingly important to better understand the impact of invasions on ecosystems.
Researchers from the University of Bern, the University of Konstanz (Germany) and the Northeast Forestry University (China), have now shown how the ...
Evolutionary biologists have long believed that the human-biting mosquito, Culex pipiens form molestus,evolved from the bird-biting form, Culex pipiens form pipiens, in subways and cellars in northern Europe over the past 200 years. It’s been held up as an example of a species’ ability to rapidly adapt to new environments and urbanization. Now, a new study led by Princeton University researchers disproves that theory, tracing the origins of the molestus mosquito to more than 1,000 years ago in the Mediterranean or Middle East. The paper publishes October 23 in the journal Science.
“This ...
Pain resilience is the key factor linking chronic pain to physical activity levels
Individuals’ ability to stay active despite pain depends more on their pain resilience than on how much pain they feel
Efforts should centre on building resilience to pain, as well as reducing it
Pain affects activity levels, but how individuals understand and act in the face of pain can make a difference, a new study from the University of Portsmouth has found.
The paper, published ...
Do insectivorous animals perceive green, caterpillar-shaped clay as a tasty meal? Ecologists sometimes use plasticine models mimicking natural prey, such as caterpillars, fruit, bird eggs, snakes, and frogs, to record attack marks. This method is widely adopted for its low cost and simplicity. The goal is to estimate biotic interactions, particularly predation. Yet a critical question remains: Is the assumption that plasticine caterpillars appear "tasty" to animals overly human-centric?
Despite the method's popularity, it relies on an unproven premise that animals visually recognize and react to the models as if they were ...
Fitness amongst young adults varies widely from one country to another, and is strongly associated with both socioeconomic development and gender equality, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science reports. The results indicate that levels of development and gender equality in a society can affect differences in physical capacity and therefore public health in general.
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important factor of health and life-expectancy. For this present study, researchers systematically reviewed data from 95 studies ...
