I repeat- I haven’t been this excited about a discovery since CRISPR. We found something enigmatic that, like CRISPR, is associated with microbial genomes. We have named these unique entities #BORGs
If you want to jump straight to the report: bit.ly/36xKdRC
Imagine a strange foreign entity, neither alive nor dead, that assimilates and shares important genes... A floating toolbox, likely full of blueprints, some that we may one day harness, like CRISPR…
Wait- wouldn’t that just be a virus? a megaplasmid? a mini-chromosome? No… #BORGs are unique...
#BORGs are huge, a third the size of their methane-eating hosts, they have assimilated many metabolism-relevant genes, and they have combinations of features not seen before...
Each different BORG has a color name. So far, we know of 19 color BORGs. Most genes are novel, yet Lilac BORG, with the key MCR complex, is the star of our paper...
As you may already know, MCR is the complex central to methane oxidation, and methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2...
#BORGs are like turbo boosters for their host’s methane metabolism. This means they could have significant climate impacts...
This discovery started in deep mud and was brought to light by an analysis of around 10 billion DNA snippets. That such an approach could reveal something with potentially global ramifications!
These #BORGs might be hiding in your data - good news - we have made the genomes public here: ggkbase.berkeley.edu/BMp/organisms Please reach out to us directly if you find some #BORGS of your own!
In 2021, I will again sit across the table from Jennifer Doudna (@DoudnaLab) and we will talk about how we might begin to explore the technological and environmental importance of this discovery...
This may be an example of the type of basic, discovery-based science that can ultimately tackle the big problems that face our world, the type of discoveries that @elonmusk is seeking through his current 100M @xprize
Basic science, starting with fieldwork and looking at what nature has invented, is important if we are to discover things that we could not imagine. This type of science deserves more funding. Without it, the world would not be meeting the #BORGs
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