蛋白质:生物界中又一类信息的储存者和传递者——对prion生物学相关知识的重新解读

Protein-based Storage and Transmission of Biological Information:The Reinterpretation of Prion Biology

蛋白质在相当一段时间内一直被认为只是DNA或RNA等遗传物质的表达形式,其单独不具有储存和传递生物信息的功能,而储存和传递生物信息却是遗传物质的两个基本属性.随着近年来prion生物学的出现和研究的逐步深入,人们已经认识到蛋白质单独就具有储存和传递生物信息的功能,从这个意义上讲,蛋白质也是一类遗传物质.所以很有必要站在这个角度对prion生物学的相关知识进行重新的梳理和再认识,通过对哺乳动物prion生物学和真菌prion生物学各自发展历程的简要回顾和最新研究成果的介绍,以及它们之间相同点和不同点的比较,总结出蛋白质储存和传递生物信息的一般规律并指出其表现形式的多样性.

For a long time, proteins have been considered as the expression forms of DNA or RNA and proteins alone cannot store and transmit biological information. But storing and transmitting biological information are two essential characteristics of genetic materials. With the appearance and development of prion biology, people have known that proteins alone have the ability of storing and transmitting biological information. In some sense, proteins are also genetic materials. It is very necessary to rediscover and reinterpret prion biology in light of this new concept. Common rules of protein-based storage and transmission of biological information and the diversity of their manifestation can be seen by reviewing the history of mammalian prion biology and fungal prion biology and by introducing the latest progress in this field.