For many years, scientists believed that our DNA was faithfully transcribed into a messenger called RNA, and that RNA was faithfully translated into the proteins that make up our cells. The new study from Penn uses technology developed in the last few years, and implemented at HudsonAlpha as well, to show that our RNA is not always identical to our DNA. This introduces a new source of genetic variation for scientists to study when looking for causes of human disease. This is a potentially “textbook-rewriting” finding. HudsonAlpha uses the same technique used to find the RNA: DNA differences, known as RNA-sequencing, in a number of different studies. Our labs have already generated large amounts of data which we can use to examine these differences, and any effects they have in genomic causes of disease and response to treatments.
–Dr. Chris Gunter, director of research affairs, HudsonAlpha
Researchers uncover a new level of genetic diversity in human RNA sequences
Cells may stray from ‘central dogma’