MicroRNA mutant turns back the evolutionary clock for fly olfaction.

The article discusses the findings of the paper "Hybrid Neurons in a MicroRNA Mutant Are Putative Evolutionary Intermediates in Insect CO2 Sensory Systems," by P. Cayirlioglu and colleagues. In this study, researchers found out that a population of hybrid CO2 neurons, that usually acts to inhibit the transcription factor Nerfin-1, can be uncovered with the disruption of a single microRNA gene, miR-279, in the Drosophila maxillary palp.