RNA GPS

摘要

For most of recorded human history, maps had a local focus and were used to navigate from landmark to landmark. This changed with the invention of the sextant, which for the first time allowed us to place ourselves relative to an external standard such as the Sun, Moon, or a distant star. Maps quickly became global, although navigation was still largely local. Then we decided to build our own star-equivalents, satellites, and it became possible to have a Global Positioning System (GPS) that could determine our location to within meters.rnOn page 376 of this issue, Pitt and Ferre-D'Amare (1) offer what is, in essence, a GPS for RNA. They use "next-generation" (Next-Gen) sequencing methods, computer analysis, and a selection experiment to show that a molecular sequence's abundance is correlated with peak fitness for a particular function and to produce detailed "fitness landscapes." The method offers insights into how molecules evolve and could help researchers more quickly map the best routes to optimal functional sequences for developing new vaccines or drugs.