A bacterium named Deinococcus radiodurans is renowned for its ability to withstand exposure to extremely high doses of radiation. This is partly due to having an extremely efficient system of repairing damaged DNA. Scientists at Western University, London, Ontario have studied a protein named DNA Damage Repair Protein C (DdrC) that seems to be unique to D. radiodurans and was known to be part of the DNA repair process in the bacterium.
They found this protein scans the DNA strands and as soon as it finds a break it quickly snaps shut and prevents any further damage at that site. The closed DdrC then acts like a beacon indicating to the cell where DNA has been damaged so it can be repaired.
Robert Szabla, who led the study explained: “It neutralizes it (the DNA damage), and prevents the break from getting damaged further. And it acts like a little molecular beacon. It tells the cell ‘Hey, over here. There’s damage. Come fix it’.”
He went on to comment: “DdrC is just one out of hundreds of potentially useful proteins in this bacterium. The next step is to prod further, look at what else this cell uses to fix its own genome—because we’re sure to find many more tools where we have no idea how they work or how they’re going to be useful until we look.”
References: PhysOrg 15 August 2024; Nucleic Acids Research 22 July 2024 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae635
Editorial Comment: The protein these scientists found may be unique to this microbe (or at least not so far seen) but every living cell with an intact nucleus comes equipped to detect damage and repair its DNA. These repair process have been extensively studied in microbes and multicellular organisms and are at work all the time.
Furthermore, every repair process involves many proteins and other molecules all working together in a coordinated way. The DdrC protein would be no use if there wasn’t a repair crew of other proteins ready to move in a fix the breaks. This is a reminder that nothing in biology works by itself, but more significantly, it shows that DNA is designed not to evolve. When repair processes don’t work cells become diseased, and may turn into cancers or they may die. This will not help anything evolve.
DNA surveillance and repair are a reminder that biological processes we observe are explained by the Biblical history of the world – it started out perfect, filled with complex, fully functioning creatures, but has degenerated and is going downhill, losing complexity and becoming diseased. In other words – from Good to Bad to Worse.
Creation Research News 5 September 2024
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