Tomaska Lubomir, Nosek Jozef
Department of Genetics, Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
FEBS Lett. 2009 Apr 2;583(7):1067-71. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2009.02.032. Epub 2009 Mar 1.
Various means employed to solve problems associated with the ends (telomeres) of linear DNA chromosomes exhibit one common feature: generation of both intra- and intercellular heterogeneity of telomeres at the level of their structural and functional states. We argue that this heterogeneity is not a simple by-product of molecular pathways mediating telomere maintenance. Instead, we propose that these mechanisms were selected because they generate heterogeneity. Similarly as noise in gene expression, stochastic events at telomeres may have an adaptive value allowing cells to sustain viable and flexible populations, with implications for fields ranging from evolutionary biology to molecular medicine.
为解决与线性DNA染色体末端（端粒）相关问题而采用的各种方法都呈现出一个共同特征：在端粒的结构和功能状态水平上产生细胞内和细胞间的端粒异质性。我们认为这种异质性并非介导端粒维持的分子途径的简单副产物。相反，我们提出这些机制之所以被选择，是因为它们产生异质性。与基因表达中的噪音类似，端粒处的随机事件可能具有适应性价值，使细胞能够维持有活力且灵活的群体，这对从进化生物学到分子医学等诸多领域都有影响。
