Study Links Patterns In RNA Sequences With Genes Contributing To Psychiatric Disorders

A new study has found a connection between special patterns in RNA sequences within the ribosome -- the cell's protein production machinery -- and genes known to contribute towards psychiatric disorders, including autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

- Press Trust Of India

The findings, published in the journal "Nature Communications”, also help explain why these mental conditions often coexist in individuals, the researchers said.

A genetic sequence -- DNA or RNA -- are made from building blocks called 'nucleotides’.

"If you consider each rRNA (ribosome RNA) sequence to be a ‘sentence’ then nucleotides are the letters comprising that sentence,” author Isidore Rigoutsos, a researcher at the Thomas Jefferson University in the US, said.