Apples are too big to finish, and half of them will turn black. This Nobel discovery says goodbye to oxidized apples

Have you ever had this problem: the apple is too big for one person to eat, and the remaining half, whether placed in the refrigerator or wrapped in plastic wrap, cannot prevent it from changing color. The stale-looking apple makes people lose their appetite.

In 2017, a kind of apple was launched in the United States that has a magical feature - it does not change color.

Image source: hippopx

Apples will quickly turn brown under the catalysis of polyphenol oxidase. Scientists use RNA interference technology to inactivate the gene responsible for producing polyphenol oxidase in apples, thereby cultivating apples that will not change color for a long time. So, who discovered this magical technology of RNA interference?

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I learned I won the Nobel Prize in my dream

The RNA interference mechanism was first proposed by two American scientists named Andrew Farr and Craig Mello, who jointly published a paper in the top scientific journal Nature, announcing this great discovery.

Andrew Farr was born in Santa Clara County, California, USA in 1959 and graduated from MIT. Farr and Mello also won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their great discovery of the RNA interference mechanism.

Andrew Farr, Image source: Wikipedia

When the Nobel Prize Committee called to inform him of his winning the award, Andrew Farr answered the call in his sleep due to the time difference between Sweden and the United States.

In a subsequent media interview, Farr said: "I couldn't believe it at first. I might be dreaming, or the Nobel Committee made a wrong call. What I am most grateful for is that my work has been recognized." It was not until Farr saw the news of his winning on the Internet that he was sure that it was all true.

He and his friend Melo had expected that their research on the flow of genetic information might win a Nobel Prize someday, but that would be 10 or 20 years from now, but he did not expect that this moment would come so soon. In a telephone interview with a Reuters reporter, Farr frankly shared why he was "surprised" by the award.

Farr specifically pointed out that the achievements made with Mello were also inseparable from the efforts of other researchers in the research group, "including the creation of infrastructure and basic theories that allowed us to get involved in this field and conduct experiments to achieve results."

This great discovery has opened up a new field of research, which is expected to suppress or put specific genes in plants, animals and humans into a dormant state, thereby curbing the impact of harmful viruses and genetic mutations.

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What is RNA interference

RNA interference, referred to as RNAi, is a gene silencing phenomenon that is widely present in eukaryotes. It is a biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression or translation by neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules.

Scientists first discovered the secret of RNA interference during a study on petunias. A scientist introduced a gene that produces purple pigment into morning glories in the hope of deepening their color. However, instead of seeing the expected deep purple flowers, many white spots formed on the petals, and some even turned completely white.

Subsequent studies found that this phenomenon was the result of RNA interference causing the simultaneous suppression of the introduced pigment gene and similar endogenous genes.

The core of RNA interference mechanism is two small RNA molecules (also called small RNA), namely micro RNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA). RNA is the direct product of genes, and these small RNAs can induce enzyme complexes to degrade messenger RNA (mRNA), thereby silencing genes. It can be simply understood that the email is destroyed while you are sending it.

Why is RNA interference considered one of the greatest discoveries in life sciences in recent years?

Since it was proven that RNA interference can play a role in regulating gene expression, RNA interference has begun to show great potential in many aspects and is considered to be a precise, stable and efficient gene transplantation technology.

Do you feel that the quality of fruits has been getting better and better in recent years? In addition to the increasing maturity of breeding technology, a big reason comes from the impact of RNA interference technology on breeding.

This technology can improve crops' tolerance to adverse environments or increase nutritional value, regulate photosynthesis efficiency, regulate plant growth cycles, etc.

It is even possible to accurately prevent some genes from being expressed, such as cigarettes without nicotine, coffee without caffeine, mangoes without allergens, etc. Of course, these foods still need to undergo safety testing before they can enter the market.

Image source: hippopx

It is more widely used in the medical field and is used to treat cancer, viral infections, neurological diseases, etc.

Traditional chemotherapy can effectively kill cancer cells, but chemotherapy drugs lack specificity in distinguishing normal cells from cancer cells and can have serious side effects. Many studies have shown that RNA interference can inhibit tumor growth by targeting cancer-related genes.

In addition, RNA interference can enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs, providing a combination therapy with chemotherapy. Another potential therapy is to use RNA interference to inhibit the infiltration and metastasis of cancer cells. Currently, most clinical research on RNA interference focuses on cancer treatment, but the potential clinical application range is very wide.

Although people have only been studying RNA interference for more than a decade, the progress has been rapid. It can be said that RNA interference is a eukaryotic gene expression regulation system centered on small molecule RNA. It can regulate gene expression and cell proliferation and differentiation at multiple levels. Through the study of RNA interference, people will have a deeper understanding of life phenomena.

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Editor/Xiao Xitushuo