Witzany Günther
Telos-Philosophische Praxis, A-5111-Bürmoos, Austria.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Oct;1178:244-67. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04989.x.
It appears that all the detailed steps of evolution stored in DNA that are read, transcribed, and translated in every developmental and growth process of each individual cell depend on RNA-mediated processes, in most cases interconnected with other RNAs and their associated protein complexes and functions in a strict hierarchy of temporal and spatial steps. Life could not function without the key agents of DNA replication, namely mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA. Not only rRNA, but also tRNA and the processing of the primary transcript into the pre-mRNA and the mature mRNA are clearly descended from retro-"elements" with obvious retroviral ancestry. They seem to be remnants of viral infection events that did not kill their host but transferred phenotypic competences to their host and changed both the genetic identity of the host organism and the identity of the former infectious viral swarms. In this respect, noncoding RNAs may represent a great variety of modular tools for cellular needs that are derived from persistent nonlytic viral settlers.
似乎存储在DNA中的所有进化细节步骤，即在每个细胞的每个发育和生长过程中被读取、转录和翻译的步骤，都依赖于RNA介导的过程，在大多数情况下，这些过程与其他RNA及其相关的蛋白质复合物相互关联，并在严格的时间和空间步骤层次中发挥作用。没有DNA复制的关键因子，即mRNA、tRNA和rRNA，生命就无法运转。不仅rRNA，而且tRNA以及初级转录本加工成前体mRNA和成熟mRNA的过程显然都起源于具有明显逆转录病毒祖先的逆转录“元件”。它们似乎是病毒感染事件的残余物，这些事件没有杀死宿主，而是将表型能力转移给了宿主，并改变了宿主生物体的遗传特性以及以前感染性病毒群体的特性。在这方面，非编码RNA可能代表了源自持久性非裂解性病毒定居者的多种细胞需求模块化工具。
