'Half a tree, half a child' under the sea

Anemone is an extremely bizarre creature, half a plant, half animal, at least considering its genetic code.

The size of an organism's genome does not correspond to its simplicity or complexity. Therefore, some scientists hypothesize that more sophisticated networks and connections between genes make the organism's structure more complex.

Researcher Michaela Schwaiger of the University of Vienna (Austria) and colleagues analyzed the anemone's genome, not only to identify genes that encode proteins , but also to evaluate codes that help increase or decrease gene expression. . They found that the anemone's simple body hides a complex network of gene interactions, similar to that of higher-level animals such as fruit flies and humans.

Picture 1 of 'Half a tree, half a child' under the sea
Anemones have genetic characteristics that are both animal and plant-like.(Photo: Nature)

The discovery has dismissed the notion that more complex genetic connections are always similar to more complex body structures. It also shows that the evolution of this level of gene organization occurred about 600 million years ago, before the phase of separating anemones, fruit flies and humans.

The team also found that anemone has a second level of gene organization, similar to plants. The genes are copied by an RNA and this RNA is then used to make proteins. However, tiny fragments of genetic material called microARN , which bind tightly to RNA copies, can prevent protein synthesis.

Although plants and animals all possess microARNs, they have very different appearance and behavior. Therefore, the scientists concluded that they were independently initiated into two separate worlds. However, Schwaiger's team found that the anemones microARN share many similarities with both microARN in animals and plants.

That implies, anemone microARNs may have evolved before animals and plants separated from it long ago. They are also evidence of an evolutionary link between the microRNAs of animals and plants.