Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: geo driver on 20/02/2013 04:54:13

Title: a new mytocondria
Post by: geo driver on 20/02/2013 04:54:13

is it possible, an energy boosting virus, mergining with our own to create energy. just out of my own head i warrent you, ut is it possible, for suce a virus to homogenise with us and create a new speises ?

Title: Re: a new mytocondria
Post by: CliffordK on 20/02/2013 06:22:16

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are closely related to bacteria.

Like bacteria, they can have plasmids.  So, it is quite possible that genes could be transferred to the mitochondria.

One method of mitochondria Gene therapy (experimental) consists of enucleating human egg cells, and transferring a new human egg nucleus.  (http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/24/news/la-heb-gene-therapy-mitochondrial-dna-20121024)

I presume it is too difficult to selectively remove mitochondria from the eggs, and at least for human-human transfer, it is easiest to just transplant the cell nuclei.

Apparently cross-species nuclear transfer (http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/3/6/a002659.full) has always led to cell death.

Potentially with plasmids, one could engineer the mitochondria in human eggs, which then would be reflected in every cell in the body.