Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
C-value is the amount, in picograms, of DNA contained within a haploid nucleus (e.g. a gamete) or one half the amount in a diploid somatic cell of a eukaryotic organism. In some cases (notably among diploid organisms), the terms C-value and genome size are used interchangeably; however, in polyploids the C-value may represent two or more genomes contained within the same nucleus.
The onion test is a way of assessing the validity of an argument for a functional role for junk DNA.It relates to the paradox that would emerge if the majority of eukaryotic non-coding DNA were assumed to be functional and the difficulty of reconciling that assumption with the diversity in genome sizes among species. [1]
The case for junk DNA was summarized in a lengthy paper by David Comings in 1972 where he listed four reasons for proposing junk DNA: [28] some organisms have a lot more DNA than they seem to require (C-value paradox), current estimates of the number of genes (in 1972) are much less than the number that can be accommodated,
The paradox was resolved with the discovery that most of the differences were due to the expansion and contraction of repetitive DNA and not the number of genes. Some researchers speculated that this repetitive DNA was mostly junk DNA. The reasons for the changes in genome size are still being worked out and this problem is called the C-value ...
Genome size ranges (in base pairs) of various life forms. Genome size is the total amount of DNA contained within one copy of a single complete genome.It is typically measured in terms of mass in picograms (trillionths (10 −12) of a gram, abbreviated pg) or less frequently in daltons, or as the total number of nucleotide base pairs, usually in megabases (millions of base pairs, abbreviated ...
The C-value paradox refers to the lack of correlation between organism 'complexity' and genome size. Explanations for the so-called paradox are two-fold. First, repetitive genetic elements can comprise large portions of the genome for many organisms, thereby inflating DNA content of the haploid genome.
The G-value paradox arises from the lack of correlation between the number of protein-coding genes among eukaryotes and their relative biological complexity. The microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans , for example, is composed of only a thousand cells but has about the same number of genes as a human.
However, this variation is poorly correlated with gene number or any measure of organismal complexity, which led CA Thomas to coin the term C-value paradox in 1971. [106] The discovery of non-coding DNA resolved some of the paradox, and most current researchers now use the term "C-value enigma". [107]