| The findings were
recently the cover story in the journal Genome Research.
The team of researchers from BGU's National Institute
for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN) set out to look for mutations in
the genome of the mitochondria, a part of every cell responsible for
energy production that is passed exclusively from mothers to their
children. The mitochondria are essential to every cell's survival and
our ability to perform the functions of living.
"Our ancestors responded to environmental changes,
such as climate shift, with mutations that increased their chances of
survival. But today, these same mutations predispose us toward complex
diseases such as cancer," according to researcher Dr. Dan Mishmar, a
molecular biologist from the Department of Life Sciences at BGU.
"Although mitochondria's role in the emergence of new species has been
investigated recently, the idea that they are responsible for our
susceptibility to illness startles many."
To test this hypothesis, the researchers analyzed the
genome mitochondria mutations from 98 unrelated individuals.
Combinations of mutations tended to occur in tumors in precisely the
same DNA building blocks that changed during evolution. The team also
found that the mitochondrial genome of humans who migrated out of Africa
to Europe 100,000 years ago carried seven mutations found in almost all
of today's Europeans.
"The concept that the same principles that drive
evolution toward the emergence of new species govern the emergence of
diseases is new," Mishmar explains. "A clinician looks at the genome of
a tumor, or other disease, and compares it to the normal population,
looking for new mutations that do not occur there. I assume the
mutations are already part of the population and have had a survival
function. When these same mutations reoccur in the correct environment,
they can cause disease."
As reported in the leading journal Genome Research,
"We show, strikingly, that evolution repeated itself in cancer. If we
better understand how evolution moved, we can understand the genetic
basis of many complex disorders. Since mitochondria play a central role
in disease, if we understand how they work and the way they changed our
ability to survive in different conditions in ancient times, we can
understand the mechanics of the disease. And we'll understand a lot
about the way certain people develop diseases and others have a lower
tendency toward those same diseases. This may lead to new methods of
disease prevention or cures."
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