A breakthrough has shed light on the biological mystery of why there are so many different types of species in the world after the discovery of a “speciation” gene in budding yeast by Academia Sinica (AS) researcher Leu Jun-yi (呂俊毅), the academy announced yesterday.
Leu’s finding was published in the renowned journal Cell on Friday, it added.
Speciation is the process in which one type of organism evolves — most of the time because of environmental factors — into two or more different species, Leu said, adding that a speciation gene is one that is involved in such a process.
PHOTO: HSIEH WEN-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES
“The question we want to ask is, why are there so many different species in the world?” he said. “Like cars of different brands, although they look alike, they function differently. For example a Porsche runs faster than a Ford, but a Ford is more energy efficient ... [Similarly] we want to know why [this occurs in different species].”
One function of speciation genes is that after organisms evolve into different species to adapt to different environments, the speciation genes make sure that the resulting different species cannot be crossbred, Leu said. In other words, the genes maintain novel adaptations during evolution, because they lose proper functions when mixed with alleles from other species.
“An example is the horse and the donkey — although they look very similar, they produce mules, which are sterile ... There are other examples where the offspring die as fertilized eggs,” he said.
Without such function, the species may lose its characteristics vital for survival, Leu said.
“For example, if a fish was crossed with a dog, the resulting offspring may be a creature that cannot function well in water or on land,” he said.
Although the speciation gene concept was discovered more than 80 years ago by famous US geneticist Theodore Dobzhansky and Hermann Muller, few speciation genes have been identified in organisms to date, Leu said.
Recently, Leu’s team discovered a gene in two similar yeasts that makes their offspring sterile, which sheds light on how the mechanism of speciation takes place.
“When crossbred, the mitochondria [the “cellular power plant” that provides energy to cells] and the nucleus [control center] of cells in the yeast do not function properly,” Leu said.
Because one yeast relies on non-fermentable carbon sources for energy, while the other depends on fermentation, the discovery also provides support for Leu’s postulation that the mitochondria in different species evolved to be different because of the ways they consume energy, he said.
Asked how his discovery could impact the field of evolutionary biology, Leu said the influence is two-fold.
“Although speciation genes have been discovered before, we can provide a clear description how this particular speciation gene functions; this is because we have a strong database documenting the functions of genes in yeasts,” he said.
Leu added that as the approach his team took was very systematic, it provides a first step to potentially discovering a universal mechanism for speciation genes.
“We want to figure out whether other yeasts also use the [mitochondria mechanism] … We have a preliminary conclusion that some of them do; [if we confirm that], this mechanism can become a universal mechanism, instead of that for a single case,” he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS