Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains

How can single cells without nervous systems perform complex behaviours such as habituation, associative learning and decision making, which are considered the hallmark of animals with a brain? Are there molecular systems that underlie cognitive properties equivalent to those of the brain? This revi...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Youri Timsit, Sergeant-Perthuis Grégoire
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	networks signalling behaviours information processing ribosome nervous systems Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Chemistry QD1-999
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/389b308945764c0d95f8f55f4cfe924a
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:389b308945764c0d95f8f55f4cfe924a
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:389b308945764c0d95f8f55f4cfe924a2021-11-11T17:17:31ZTowards the Idea of Molecular Brains10.3390/ijms2221118681422-00671661-6596https://doaj.org/article/389b308945764c0d95f8f55f4cfe924a2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/21/11868https://doaj.org/toc/1661-6596https://doaj.org/toc/1422-0067How can single cells without nervous systems perform complex behaviours such as habituation, associative learning and decision making, which are considered the hallmark of animals with a brain? Are there molecular systems that underlie cognitive properties equivalent to those of the brain? This review follows the development of the idea of molecular brains from Darwin’s “root brain hypothesis”, through bacterial chemotaxis, to the recent discovery of neuron-like r-protein networks in the ribosome. By combining a structural biology view with a Bayesian brain approach, this review explores the evolutionary labyrinth of information processing systems across scales. Ribosomal protein networks open a window into what were probably the earliest signalling systems to emerge before the radiation of the three kingdoms. While ribosomal networks are characterised by long-lasting interactions between their protein nodes, cell signalling networks are essentially based on transient interactions. As a corollary, while signals propagated in persistent networks may be ephemeral, networks whose interactions are transient constrain signals diffusing into the cytoplasm to be durable in time, such as post-translational modifications of proteins or second messenger synthesis. The duration and nature of the signals, in turn, implies different mechanisms for the integration of multiple signals and decision making. Evolution then reinvented networks with persistent interactions with the development of nervous systems in metazoans. Ribosomal protein networks and simple nervous systems display architectural and functional analogies whose comparison could suggest scale invariance in information processing. At the molecular level, the significant complexification of eukaryotic ribosomal protein networks is associated with a burst in the acquisition of new conserved aromatic amino acids. Knowing that aromatic residues play a critical role in allosteric receptors and channels, this observation suggests a general role of π systems and their interactions with charged amino acids in multiple signal integration and information processing. We think that these findings may provide the molecular basis for designing future computers with organic processors.Youri TimsitSergeant-Perthuis GrégoireMDPI AGarticlenetworkssignallingbehavioursinformation processingribosomenervous systemsBiology (General)QH301-705.5ChemistryQD1-999ENInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 22, Iss 11868, p 11868 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	networks signalling behaviours information processing ribosome nervous systems Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Chemistry QD1-999
spellingShingle	networks signalling behaviours information processing ribosome nervous systems Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Chemistry QD1-999 Youri Timsit Sergeant-Perthuis Grégoire Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains
description	How can single cells without nervous systems perform complex behaviours such as habituation, associative learning and decision making, which are considered the hallmark of animals with a brain? Are there molecular systems that underlie cognitive properties equivalent to those of the brain? This review follows the development of the idea of molecular brains from Darwin’s “root brain hypothesis”, through bacterial chemotaxis, to the recent discovery of neuron-like r-protein networks in the ribosome. By combining a structural biology view with a Bayesian brain approach, this review explores the evolutionary labyrinth of information processing systems across scales. Ribosomal protein networks open a window into what were probably the earliest signalling systems to emerge before the radiation of the three kingdoms. While ribosomal networks are characterised by long-lasting interactions between their protein nodes, cell signalling networks are essentially based on transient interactions. As a corollary, while signals propagated in persistent networks may be ephemeral, networks whose interactions are transient constrain signals diffusing into the cytoplasm to be durable in time, such as post-translational modifications of proteins or second messenger synthesis. The duration and nature of the signals, in turn, implies different mechanisms for the integration of multiple signals and decision making. Evolution then reinvented networks with persistent interactions with the development of nervous systems in metazoans. Ribosomal protein networks and simple nervous systems display architectural and functional analogies whose comparison could suggest scale invariance in information processing. At the molecular level, the significant complexification of eukaryotic ribosomal protein networks is associated with a burst in the acquisition of new conserved aromatic amino acids. Knowing that aromatic residues play a critical role in allosteric receptors and channels, this observation suggests a general role of π systems and their interactions with charged amino acids in multiple signal integration and information processing. We think that these findings may provide the molecular basis for designing future computers with organic processors.
format	article
author	Youri Timsit Sergeant-Perthuis Grégoire
author_facet	Youri Timsit Sergeant-Perthuis Grégoire
author_sort	Youri Timsit
title	Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains
title_short	Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains
title_full	Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains
title_fullStr	Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains
title_full_unstemmed	Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains
title_sort	towards the idea of molecular brains
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/389b308945764c0d95f8f55f4cfe924a
work_keys_str_mv	AT youritimsit towardstheideaofmolecularbrains AT sergeantperthuisgregoire towardstheideaofmolecularbrains
_version_	1718432111232286720

Towards the Idea of Molecular Brains

Ejemplares similares