Cephalopods Have The Ability To Edit Their Own RNA

Some of them more than others.

http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=260

These guys have the uncanny ability to imitate sea snakes.

Something you don't see everyday....

Amazing creatures for sure.

This is very interesting, and also very frustrating, as there so many unanswered questions. I would like to know whether an individual octopus changes its RNA "on the fly" or whether it is due to some stimuli (like water temperature) during its development. I'm sure this is being studied.

This appears to be another case where life adapts to its environment. The immune system adapts to different diseases, the liver adapts to different "poisons" (at least to alcohol), and of course, the nervous system learns from experience.

Seems to me it's triggered by nerves mostly, or neural electrical impulses more specifically....

Human version....

If everybody could do this it would be so weird....

Talk about fickle! WOW!

One of the interesting consequences of this RNA editing is that their DNA has been stable for millions of years. This is because any changes to their DNA would create problems with their RNA editing (since the enzymes wouldn't recognize the RNA they needed to change). Thus where most animals adapt to environmental changes by mutation and natural selection, in these animals the stability of their DNA is critical for their ability to adapt.

I am glad we have cleared that up, and yes, cephalopods come from outer space. I saw that on one episode of The Simpsons, so it must be true.

This raises some interesting questions: if long stretches of their DNA remain stagnant, what implications does this have for their future evolution? On the flip-side, given the fact that they can edit their RNA, does it even matter?

At some point in the distant past they were not able to edit their RNA. Changes to their DNA may not be fatal. The capability to edit their RNA developed over time and, if it happened once, it can happen again. I wonder what evolutionary pressures would cause them to alter their 'static' DNA, their RNA template, as it were, or are they at an evolutionary dead end because they can adapt in this way?

All interesting questions, but there is still naturally occurring mutations that will continue to make changes, also it's interesting to think that pertaining to their ability to alter over half of their RNA, is there a limit, what would govern this ability, will they someday be able to completely change into a new type of creature....Were there once larger creatures with this ability that lived in the sea, is this where Mermaids came from?

True. Also, I would imagine that the DNA mutations that were favored by natural selection for them would be ones that actually protected the DNA from mutation. In other words, its possible that over the past several millions of years their DNA may have become very hard to mutate. Something that could be very useful for human beings for a number of reasons (increased resistance to radiation exposure, increased resistance to developing cancers, etc.).

Also, it's just cool to see life adapt in another way.

True that. But, Octuposes seem to have big problems in Korea. These animals are pushed to their limits

That's the best type of sea food I ever eaten.

Are there no limits to the torture these little fellows have to endure? You all should be ashamed. What if something came along and ate you alive?

You mean, the "craken"? I have that takin care by Jack Sparrow, buddy!

No, I was actually thinking of a monster only someone like

this guy could come up with (Stephen King). His monsters will see your Kraken, and raise you a planet-eater.

I guess, this guy originated alot of clowns including Ronald Mc Donald.

You call that music? It was so offensive, the hall monitor called me out of the classroom on that one! Gut: why you gotta go getting me in trouble like that?

Oh, there's a lot of them already in the metal scene.

I take it this would be you, huh?

I would try octopus cooked like that, not live though.

The secret of how to cook octopus is blanching about a minute or 2. You don't cook it well done, it becomes chewy like eating rubber slippers "tsinelas". Then you can make a some sort of salad "kinilaw/kilawin" of onions, chilis, ginger, lemon and coconut vinegar, with its black ink. Oh, nothing taste better than that, believe me.

Nope, I admired that guy's appreciation of us. Probably, he is more filipino than us.

Even metal artist are amazed by octopuses,