New proteins "out of nothing"

Fruit flies (shown here mating) served as the study model. Mareike Kopping Proteins are the key component in all modern forms of life. Haemoglobin, for example, transports the oxygen in our blood; photosynthesis proteins in the leaves of plants convert sunlight into energy; and fungal enzymes help us to brew beer and bake bread. Researchers have long been examining the question of how proteins mutate or come into existence in the course of millennia. That completely new proteins - and, with them, new properties - can emerge practically out of nothing, was inconceivable for decades, in line with what the Greek philosopher Parmenides said: "Nothing can emerge from nothing? (ex nihilo nihil fit) . Working with colleagues from the USA and Australia, researchers from the University of Münster have now reconstructed how evolution forms the structure and function of a newly emerged protein in flies. This protein is essential for male fertility.