We Are What We Eat

A very recent study by scientists at the University of Oxford reveals an interesting link between organisms and what they eat. To build DNA, an organism must have access to all the right components. If an organism has a restricted diet, and has limited DNA components, then it would make sense that their DNA would be different from an organism that did not have this limited diet. This was the scientists' hypothesis: the composition of food could alter their DNA.

To test their hypothesis, they examined similar groups of parasites that shared a common ancestor but have evolved to eat different food. The researchers developed mathematical models to make DNA comparisons and found that parasites with low-nitrogen diets had DNA sequences composed of less nitrogen than parasites that ate nitrogen-rich food. Interestingly, they also found that it's possible to predict diets of related organisms by comparing their DNA. The authors believe their findings shed light on the mystery of how two highly related organisms can have very different DNA, and also recognize that there are many other factors that influence the DNA of organisms.

Link to review article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161115111720.htm

Primary Reference: 

1. Emily A. Seward, Steven Kelly. Dietary nitrogen alters codon bias and genome composition in parasitic microorganisms. Genome Biology, 2016; 17 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s13059-016-1087-9