DNA-DNA Recognition: From Tight Contact to Fatal Attraction

Timsit, Youri

doi:10.5772/36572

Cited by 1 publication

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References 92 publications

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“…This notion is interesting when trying to understand the constant interactions between macromolecules that must constantly readjust in a fluctuating environment. It is fascinating, for example, to observe by molecular dynamics, the dance of two DNA double-helices closely intertwined, constantly looking at each other, attracting and repelling each other in turn in a kind of premise of love [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]: this scene is closer to a “pas de deux” than worm gear set. Yet, although machines and choreography are not very reconcilable, they are sometimes used to describe the same object.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains

Timsit

Sergeant-Perthuis

2021

IJMS

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How can single cells without nervous systems perform complex behaviours such as habituation, associative learning and decision making, which are considered the hallmark of animals with a brain? Are there molecular systems that underlie cognitive properties equivalent to those of the brain? This review follows the development of the idea of molecular brains from Darwin’s “root brain hypothesis”, through bacterial chemotaxis, to the recent discovery of neuron-like r-protein networks in the ribosome. By combining a structural biology view with a Bayesian brain approach, this review explores the evolutionary labyrinth of information processing systems across scales. Ribosomal protein networks open a window into what were probably the earliest signalling systems to emerge before the radiation of the three kingdoms. While ribosomal networks are characterised by long-lasting interactions between their protein nodes, cell signalling networks are essentially based on transient interactions. As a corollary, while signals propagated in persistent networks may be ephemeral, networks whose interactions are transient constrain signals diffusing into the cytoplasm to be durable in time, such as post-translational modifications of proteins or second messenger synthesis. The duration and nature of the signals, in turn, implies different mechanisms for the integration of multiple signals and decision making. Evolution then reinvented networks with persistent interactions with the development of nervous systems in metazoans. Ribosomal protein networks and simple nervous systems display architectural and functional analogies whose comparison could suggest scale invariance in information processing. At the molecular level, the significant complexification of eukaryotic ribosomal protein networks is associated with a burst in the acquisition of new conserved aromatic amino acids. Knowing that aromatic residues play a critical role in allosteric receptors and channels, this observation suggests a general role of π systems and their interactions with charged amino acids in multiple signal integration and information processing. We think that these findings may provide the molecular basis for designing future computers with organic processors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%