After decades of scientific curiosity, an international team has finally discovered the gateway to a little-known nutrient with major significance for our bodies. What long seemed a mystery now proves to be a pivotal moment in our understanding of nutrition, health, and genetics.
Researchers from the University of Florida and Trinity College Dublin, among others, have discovered how a micronutrient with profound effects on brain function and cell division actually enters our body’s cells. That substance — queuosine, pronounced “kyoo-oh-seen” — is essential, but we cannot produce it ourselves.
We are entirely dependent on our diet and the bacteria in our gut to obtain this substance. Yet the role of queuosine was long ignored or underestimated. Perhaps precisely because its effects were not loud, but quietly woven into fundamental processes in our bodies.
A Gene as a Gateway
The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the first time, researchers have identified which gene is responsible for transporting queuosine into human cells. This ends more than thirty years of speculation within biology — and opens new perspectives on the role of this nutrient in learning, memory, and even cancer prevention.
“We’ve known for a long time that there had to be a transporter,” says Prof. Valérie de Crécy-Lagard of the University of Florida. “But nobody knew where to look. This discovery opens an entirely new field where we can finally understand how our microbiome and diet influence the expression of our genes.”
A Micronutrient That Fine-Tunes Our Genetic Reading
Queuosine affects so-called transfer RNA molecules — essential links in the process by which our bodies make proteins and decode genetic information. The effect is subtle, but fundamental: this compound fine-tunes how our body interprets genetic instructions.
“You could say this substance determines how accurately your body reads your genes,” says de Crécy-Lagard. “That such a small, barely known compound plays such a major role… it continues to amaze.“
The gene responsible for this cellular access, SLC35F2, was long an unknown factor. It was studied in relation to viruses and cancer therapies, but its function in a healthy body remained unclear until recently. Now that this ‘transporter’ has been identified, it opens the door to new research and possibly even targeted medications.
From Gut Flora to Brain and Cell Division
According to Prof. Vincent Kelly of Trinity College Dublin, we have long known that queuosine is linked to brain function, metabolism, cancer, and stress regulation. But how this substance is absorbed from the gut and reaches billions of human cells remained unexplained until now. And perhaps that is precisely where the key to a much larger health story lies.
Queuosine was discovered back in the 1970s, but then faded from attention. Only recently has there been renewed interest in the role of this micro-compound within broader biological systems. The researchers hope this will now be taken up more widely in science and medicine.
The research was backed by an international collaboration between universities in the US, Ireland, and Northern Ireland — including the University of Florida, San Diego State University, and Ohio State University.
“Without this collaboration, we couldn’t have cracked it,” says de Crécy-Lagard. “It’s a striking example of what scientific collaboration makes possible.”
Verified Sources
- “The oncogene SLC35F2 is a high-specificity transporter for the micronutrients queuine and queuosine,” June 17, 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2425364122
- Thanks to SciTechDaily.com
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Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is queuosine?
Queuosine is a micronutrient that our bodies cannot produce on their own. It plays a role in reading genetic material through tRNA and is involved in processes such as brain function and cell division.
How do we get queuosine?
Why is the discovery of the SLC35F2 gene important?
The SLC35F2 gene appears to be essential for the uptake of queuosine in human cells. The discovery enables further research into treatments that leverage this mechanism.
What does this mean for healthcare?
The new insights open the door to innovative therapies, for example in the areas of cancer, memory problems, or metabolic disorders.
Is queuosine a supplement I should take?
For now, there is no broad recommendation for supplementation. The substance is found in a varied diet, and research into direct application is still in its infancy.
