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Pseudogenes are nonfunctional segments of DNA that resemble functional genes.Pseudogenes can be formed from both protein-coding genes and non-coding genes. In the case of protein-coding genes, most pseudogenes arise as superfluous copies of functional genes, either directly by gene duplication or indirectly by reverse transcription of an mRNA transcript.
The nonfunctional DNA in bacterial genomes is mostly located in the intergenic fraction of non-coding DNA but in eukaryotic genomes it may also be found within introns. There are many examples of functional DNA elements in non-coding DNA, and it is erroneous to equate non-coding DNA with junk DNA.
Junk DNA (non-functional DNA) is a DNA sequence that has no known biological function. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Most organisms have some junk DNA in their genomes —mostly pseudogenes and fragments of transposons and viruses—but it is possible that some organisms have substantial amounts of junk DNA.
Non-functional DNA elements such as pseudogenes and repetitive DNA, both of which are types of junk DNA, can also be found in intergenic regions—although they may also be located within genes in introns. [2] It is possible that these regions contain as of yet unidentified functional elements, such as non-coding genes or regulatory sequences. [3]
A conserved non-coding sequence (CNS) is a DNA sequence of noncoding DNA that is evolutionarily conserved. These sequences are of interest for their potential to regulate gene production. [1] CNSs in plants [2] and animals [1] are highly associated with transcription factor binding sites and other cis-acting regulatory elements.
[1] [4] The RAG1/RAG2 complex then introduces a nick at the 5' end of the RSS heptamers adjacent to the coding regions on both the D and J segments, permanently removing the loop of intervening DNA and creating a double-stranded break that is repaired by VDJ recombinase enzymes. [1] [4] This process is repeated for the joining of V to DJ. [1]
The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and non-coding genes. [1] [2] [3] During gene expression (the synthesis of RNA or protein from a gene), DNA is first copied into RNA.
The split gene theory is a theory of the origin of introns, long non-coding sequences in eukaryotic genes between the exons. [1] [2] [3] The theory holds that the randomness of primordial DNA sequences would only permit small (< 600bp) open reading frames (ORFs), and that important intron structures and regulatory sequences are derived from stop codons.