Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes
The intron has been a big biological mystery since it was first discovered in several aspects. First, all of the completely sequenced eukaryotes harbor introns in the genomic structure, whereas no prokaryotes identified so far carry introns. Second, the amount of total introns varies in different sp...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BioMed Central
2015-12-01
|
| Series: | Genomics & Informatics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://genominfo.org/upload/pdf/gni-13-112.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832570901298675712 |
|---|---|
| author | Bong-Seok Jo Sun Shim Choi |
| author_facet | Bong-Seok Jo Sun Shim Choi |
| author_sort | Bong-Seok Jo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The intron has been a big biological mystery since it was first discovered in several aspects. First, all of the completely sequenced eukaryotes harbor introns in the genomic structure, whereas no prokaryotes identified so far carry introns. Second, the amount of total introns varies in different species. Third, the length and number of introns vary in different genes, even within the same species genome. Fourth, all introns are copied into RNAs by transcription and DNAs by replication processes, but intron sequences do not participate in protein-coding sequences. The existence of introns in the genome should be a burden to some cells, because cells have to consume a great deal of energy to copy and excise them exactly at the correct positions with the help of complicated spliceosomal machineries. The existence throughout the long evolutionary history is explained, only if selective advantages of carrying introns are assumed to be given to cells to overcome the negative effect of introns. In that regard, we summarize previous research about the functional roles or benefits of introns. Additionally, several other studies strongly suggesting that introns should not be junk will be introduced. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7a91f6534a644f74950782918aae5022 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1598-866X 2234-0742 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-12-01 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genomics & Informatics |
| spelling | doaj-art-7a91f6534a644f74950782918aae50222025-02-02T13:39:19ZengBioMed CentralGenomics & Informatics1598-866X2234-07422015-12-0113411211810.5808/GI.2015.13.4.112136Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in GenomesBong-Seok Jo0Sun Shim Choi1Department of Medical Biotechnology, College of Biomedical Science, and Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea.Department of Medical Biotechnology, College of Biomedical Science, and Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea.The intron has been a big biological mystery since it was first discovered in several aspects. First, all of the completely sequenced eukaryotes harbor introns in the genomic structure, whereas no prokaryotes identified so far carry introns. Second, the amount of total introns varies in different species. Third, the length and number of introns vary in different genes, even within the same species genome. Fourth, all introns are copied into RNAs by transcription and DNAs by replication processes, but intron sequences do not participate in protein-coding sequences. The existence of introns in the genome should be a burden to some cells, because cells have to consume a great deal of energy to copy and excise them exactly at the correct positions with the help of complicated spliceosomal machineries. The existence throughout the long evolutionary history is explained, only if selective advantages of carrying introns are assumed to be given to cells to overcome the negative effect of introns. In that regard, we summarize previous research about the functional roles or benefits of introns. Additionally, several other studies strongly suggesting that introns should not be junk will be introduced.http://genominfo.org/upload/pdf/gni-13-112.pdffirst intronfunctional roles of intronsintronsselective advantage |
| spellingShingle | Bong-Seok Jo Sun Shim Choi Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes Genomics & Informatics first intron functional roles of introns introns selective advantage |
| title | Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes |
| title_full | Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes |
| title_fullStr | Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes |
| title_short | Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes |
| title_sort | introns the functional benefits of introns in genomes |
| topic | first intron functional roles of introns introns selective advantage |
| url | http://genominfo.org/upload/pdf/gni-13-112.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bongseokjo intronsthefunctionalbenefitsofintronsingenomes AT sunshimchoi intronsthefunctionalbenefitsofintronsingenomes |