Monday December 13

this might be a stupid question, but if theres a protein that multiple organisms need, wouldn't the a t g c genetic code for it be the same for different species? or at least closely related species? so theoretically some prompts/sequences should have multiple fitting organisms or closest fitting organisms

(i know it isn't this simple, but im wondering what the exact reason it doesn't work like that is, or what im missing)

not a stupid question, i'll try to answer it to the best of my understanding, but if anyone has anything to add, please do.

put shortly: you're right! if multiple organisms need a certain protein, the code in their DNA is generally the same in that region.

from a genetics perspective, all organisms are actually extremely similar. i'm sure you've heard that we humans share more than half our genetic information with bananas and such.

this is just a factor of how evolution works. every so often, a mutation occurs in an organism's genome, which has a chance to increase the fitness of that organism, which allows it to have more offspring, which changes the mix of alleles in the population. and this is how we get different species of things.

but, because we all share a common ancestor from a long, long, long, long time ago, we do maintain some similarities, especially in regions that code for things essential to life.

those regions where things are *different* is where we're able to tell one species from another, differentiating moths from trees and such. but, overall, all living organisms have a whole lot in common.

Hemitrichia serpula by rorymacro

(via Myco-heterotrophic plant (Thismia calcarata) | Photo from th… | Flickr)

Microcosms (2023)

linocuts on colored paper

(diatom species pictured: Stauroneis acuta, Pleurosigma inflatum, Triceratium pentacrinus, Actinoptychus heliopelta)

Recent Research Unveils New Genomic Landscape of the Human Gut Microbiome

BGI-Research introduced CGR2, the expanded cultivated genome reference landscape for the human gut microbiome.

Scientists from BGI-Research developed a new version of the Cultivated Genome Reference (CGR), a repository of high-quality draft genomes of the human gut microbiome. The current version of CGR, which is CGR2, has been further expanded to incorporate numerous high-quality draft genomes generated from cultivated bacteria. CGR2 classifies previously unidentified species and uncovers the functional and genomic diversity of bacterial strains. An in-depth analysis of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAzymes) reveals the phyla with the largest and most diverse repertoires of these enzymes. CGR2 also enabled the identification of genes involved in the synthesis of secondary metabolites in the gut microbiome. The unraveling of the gut microbiome genomic landscape will enable the development of therapeutics and provide a deep insight into the evolution of the human gut microbiome.

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Biology Keychains - Diatoms and Soil Bacteria!

Designed by me, available now on my Etsy!

"Wherever you are on your journey to the microcosmos, the odds are high that you'll run into a diatom. They're both abundant and easy to spot because of the shells they encase themselves in. The results are beautiful, exacting geometries that create a living kaleidoscope in the microcosmos. Even if you lived your entire life without ever seeing a diatom, without ever hearing the word "diatom", you would still be living a life that's shaped by them... all the way down to the oxygen you breathe, thanks in no small part to their outsized contribution to the world's photosynthesis."

Journey to the Microcosmos- How Diatoms Build Their Beautiful Shells

Images Originally Captured by Jam's Germs

Astrionella 630x, Bacillaria paxillifer 200x, Diatom 630x, Diatom 630x, Diatom frustule 630x, Diatoms 630x

(via Agar Art — A Cultural Triumph: See A Microbiology Masterpiece In A Petri Dish : NPR)

yep, it’s cultured & arranged bacteria!