Scientists Determine Identity, Cell Locale And Quantity Of Nearly All Proteins In An Organism

Science Daily | University Of California - San Francisco ^ | 2003-10-16

[sourcery]

FYI

[Sabertooth]

((((((growl)))))

[PatrickHenry]

PING. [This ping list is for the evolution side of evolution threads, and sometimes for other science topics. FReepmail me to be added or dropped.]

[Nebullis]

This is great! I had not seen this yet.

[js1138]

placemarker

[gore3000]

With this new method for a thorough protein search, they were able to examine thousands of proteins individually

Very interesting research which should yield great benefits.

The article was pretty good too until it got to this part:

Nonetheless, the project was easily thorough enough to net some striking findings. For example, the research revealed that of the 4,200 yeast proteins scrutinized, a full 527 of them -- or about one in eight - work in the energy-converting organelle, the mitochondrion. O'Shea speculates that the mitochondrion may have such a large share of the proteins because, in addition to it vital energy conversion function, this organelle is believed to be derived from a separate organism - a bacterial parasite or pathogen that invaded our ancient ancestral cell.

This of course is ridiculous and totally false. No life can exist without energy and some form of ATP synthesis needs to be used for any cell to obtain that energy. This ATP synthesis takes different forms in different organisms such as plants which use chloroplasts instead of mitochondria, but they all required it from the beginning.

[sourcery]

The mitochondrion system is not the only energy pathway available to eucaryotes, let alone other micro-organisms.

[gore3000]

The mitochondrion system is not the only energy pathway available to eucaryotes,

Yup, and I said that, chloroplasts are another, as I already said. However, the system is quite involved, in fact it has slight differeneces in species with different lifestyles, but in all cases that very involved system had to be there from day one of that living thing because life cannot exist without energy.

[BiffWondercat]

By that train, viruses are not alive. Indeed until they infect a cell, they are 'inert' Most puzzling for a bit of RNA or DNA in a coat of protiens? Are Mycoplasmas (sic) as inert?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[gore3000]

By that train, viruses are not alive.

Correct, they are not alive, they cannot reproduce for one thing. A living organism requires many things, one of the essentials is energy.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the smallest bacteria known with a cell diameter of about 0.5 mm and a genome size of 816 kbp coding for 687 genes. The annotation of the complete genome sequence made it possible to predict functions for 68% of the genes. This information is sufficient to understand metabolic pathways and the synthesis of macromolecules, but more knowledge is required for understanding the three key processes characterizing all living systems that are metabolism, defined as the sum of all chemical reactions taking place in the cell, reproduction and adaptation.
From: Richard Hrennmann's Home Page.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

We had a lecturer in proteomics in last week, but I had to miss it to conduct training classes. I'm falling behind again.

(As if I were ever caught up.)

[LiteKeeper]

YEC SPOTREP

[Stultis]

The mitochondrion system is not the only energy pathway available to eucaryotes,

Yup, and I said that, chloroplasts are another, as I already said.

You're dancing around the point, which is that there certainly are cells which do not require seperate organelles, whether mitocondria or chloroplasts, to produce energy, for instance all procaryotes. Therefore your objection to the theory of a parasitic origin of mitochondria is not valid.

[BiffWondercat]

The next (search engine) result gives the TIGR map.
Shall I cut and paste it as well?

[gore3000]

You're dancing around the point, which is that there certainly are cells which do not require seperate organelles, whether mitocondria or chloroplasts, to produce energy, for instance all procaryotes. Therefore your objection to the theory of a parasitic origin of mitochondria is not valid.

Of course it is - because whatever organism it was, already had to have a way to make energy to be alive. Mitochondria, like chloroplasts are not individual organisms any more than the the stomach or the lungs are individual organisms and not even evolutionists are stupid/dishonest enough to claim that stomachs and lungs were parasitic organisms.

[Stultis]

But your objection was that eucaryotes, or their ancestors, could not have acquired mitochondria at some point in time becuase they would have needed them to produce energy to begin with. That objection was not valid because many cells can and do produce energy without mitochondria (or chloroplast, or any other specialized organelles). If you have some new objection, we can consider it, but your first objection has been shot down. Whether you chose to acknowledge that or not is irrelevant.

[general_re]

(Lights fuse and throws into pond)

Mitochondria, like chloroplasts are not individual organisms...

Then why do they have their own DNA?

[Junior]

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the smallest bacteria known with a cell diameter of about 0.5 mm [sic] and a genome size of 816 kbp coding for 687 genes.

As 0.5 mm is absolutely huge when it comes to bacteria, one can pretty much dismiss this "expert's" claims.