A Brief History of RNA

By Jean-Marie Blanchard, DR-CNRS (retired).

Director of the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Montpellier (2003–2012)

Since 2016, he has served as a board member of the Regional Cancer League and as Vice Chair of the National Scientific Council responsible for basic research.

We will provide an overview of the various types of RNA found in a cell, highlighting the essential role these molecules play in living organisms. We will immediately address the issues surrounding the central dogma of biology: DNA carries the information needed to assemble proteins, but proteins are required to decode it. This led to the discovery of what is known as messenger RNA. We will briefly describe some of the astonishing properties of RNAs. We will elaborate on the completely unexpected discovery of the catalytic activity of certain types of RNA, known as ribozymes—properties previously thought to be exclusive to enzymatic proteins. RNA can also carry genetic information just like DNA. It is now considered possible that the (now-extinct) ancestors of living organisms were composed of RNAs. Like the building blocks of life (the amino acids of proteins or the nucleotides of nucleic acids), these molecules could have been synthesized from very simple chemicals under the prebiotic conditions that existed in the oceans several billion years ago.

Finally, its use as a genetic tool and as a therapeutic agent will be discussed.

Conference organized byARUM ( Association of Retirees of the University of Montpellier).