title: Prions as adaptive conduits of memory and inheritance.
abstract: Changes in protein conformation drive most biological processes, but none have seized the imagination of scientists and the public alike as have the self-replicating conformations of prions. Prions transmit lethal neurodegenerative diseases by means of the food chain. However, self-replicating protein conformations can also constitute molecular memories that transmit genetic information. Here, we showcase definitive evidence for the prion hypothesis and discuss examples in which prion-encoded heritable information has been harnessed during evolution to confer selective advantages. We then describe situations in which prion-enciphered events might have essential roles in long-term memory formation, transcriptional memory and genome-wide expression patterns.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. shorter@wi.mit.edu
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shorter
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lindquist
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors; D011328:Prions; C068068:SUP35 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins