Our genes may be programmed to save change for a rainy day. In a recent study in Nature, cryptic variation -- where genetic mutations with no immediate function quietly gather, holding potential for collective expression under the right conditions -- has been demonstrated in ribozymes by ETH Zurich researchers Eric Hayden, Evandro Ferrada, and SFI External Professor Andreas Wagner, an evolutionary biologist.
The team developed ribozymes in test tubes under a given set of chemical conditions, then moved them to a new chemical environment. Those with specific combinations of mutations fared much better than the rest.
“Cryptic variation addresses questions of innovation,” said Hayden in a WiredScience news article. “There’s been a long history of this concept, but no concrete experimental demonstration.”
Potential applications include looking for signature mutation sets in rapidly evolving pathogens, and introducing subtle, complex arrays of mutations in genetic engineering rather than individual bold ones.
Read the WiredScience article (June 3, 2011)
Read the Nature study (June 1, 2011, subscription required)