This, hot off the press:

> MicroRNAs from common plant crops such as rice and cabbage can be found in the blood and tissues of humans and other plant-eating mammals, according to a study published today in Cell Research. One microRNA in particular, MIR168a, which is highly enriched in rice, was found to inhibit a protein that helps removes low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from the blood, suggesting that microRNAs can influence gene expression across kingdoms.

> "This is a very exciting piece of work that suggests that the food we eat may directly regulate gene expression in our bodies," said Clay Marsh, Director of the Center for Personalized Health Care at the Ohio State University College of Medicine who researches microRNA expression.

> "I'm confident other people will find more exogenous plant microRNAs that can pass through the GI tract and also have effects on the host physiology," Chen-Yu Zhang, a molecular biologist at Nanjing University in China.

http://the-scientist.com

[This means also that the assumption that RNAs fed to honeybees will have no downstream effect is wrong]

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm