Botany Department, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Arch Virol. 2013 Mar;158(3):691-4. doi: 10.1007/s00705-012-1527-0. Epub 2012 Nov 9.
The preservation of macromolecules is at best haphazard. Modern techniques have improved the detection of ancient DNA and proteins, but there is little information on the preservation of RNA. Fifty-year-old dried leaf material showing symptoms of peach calico disease was used successfully in RT-PCRs to amplify peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) RNA and the mRNA for the large subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco). These results indicate that naked RNA may be preserved, under suitable conditions, for at least 50 years. The results are discussed in the context of ancient DNA and proteins and the process of fossilization.
大分子的保存充其量也是偶然的。现代技术提高了对古代 DNA 和蛋白质的检测能力，但有关 RNA 保存的信息却很少。成功地从有桃彩叶病症状的 50 年陈干叶材料中用 RT-PCR 扩增了桃潜隐花叶病毒（PLMVd）RNA 和核酮糖-1,5-二磷酸羧化酶（rubisco）大亚基的 mRNA。这些结果表明，在适当的条件下，裸露的 RNA 至少可以保存 50 年。本文还讨论了古代 DNA 和蛋白质以及化石形成过程中涉及的相关问题。
