Our memory comes from an ancient virus

[Greg Bernhardt]

Recently, an international collaboration of researchers from the University of Utah, the University of Copenhagen, and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the UK, discovered something strange about a protein called Arc. This is essential to long-term memory formation. What they found was that it has very similar properties to how a virus infects its host. Their findings were published in the journal Cell.

In it researchers write, “The neuronal gene Arc is essential for long-lasting information storage in the mammalian brain, mediates various forms of synaptic plasticity, and has been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders.” They go on to say, “little is known about Arc’s molecular function and evolutionary origins.”

As a result of the study, researchers now believe that a chance encounter occurring hundreds of millions of years ago, led to Arc’s centrality in our memory function today. Assistant professor of neurobiology Jason Shepherd, Ph.D. of the University of Utah, led this research project.

Pop science: http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/our-memory-comes-from-an-ancient-virus-neuroscientists-say
Paper: http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)31504-0

 

[Drakkith]

Very interesting! I think the co-opting of viral genes remains most impactful thing I've ever read about biology and evolution. It's absolutely amazing!

On this same topic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_retrovirus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncytin-1

 

[Ygggdrasil]

A pretty large portion of our genome is derived from viruses:

With advances in genome sequencing and computational tools to analyze genomic information, researchers are able to estimate that about 8 percent of the human genome is made of sequences that originated as invasive retroviruses. To put that number in perspective, genes make up about 1 percent to 1.5 percent of your genome.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-percent-virus-are-you/

So, it's not surprising that evolution has found a way to co-opt viral sequences for other functions. Still, it's a very cool finding. Figuring out how neighboring cell share information and communicate is a big current area of research.