Junk DNA: goodbye! (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, April 25, 2014, 19:31 (4462 days ago) @ David Turell

New Encode research finds 70-75% of DNA may have activity in modifying gene expression, (in body of the article), but firm evidence of activity is not fully established. The conclusion of the article:-"Conclusion: In contrast to evolutionary and genetic evidence, biochemical data offer clues about both the molecular function served by underlying DNA elements and the cell types in which they act, thus providing a launching point to study differentiation and development, cellular circuitry, and human disease (14, 35, 69, 111, 112). The major contribution of ENCODE to date has been high-resolution, highly-reproducible maps of DNA segments with biochemical signatures associated with diverse molecular functions. We believe that this public resource is far more important than any interim estimate of the fraction of the human genome that is functional. By identifying candidate genomic elements and placing them into classes with shared molecular characteristics, the biochemical maps provide a starting point for testing how these signatures relate to molecular, cellular, and organismal function. The data identify very large numbers of sequence elements of differing sizes and signal strengths. Emerging genome-editing methods (113, 114) should considerably increase the throughput and resolution with which these candidate elements can be evaluated by genetic criteria. Given the limitations of our current understanding of genome function, future work should seek to better define genome elements by integrating all three methods to gain insight into the roles they play in human biology and disease."-http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/23/1318948111.long