Definition of Junk DNA

1. Noun. Stretches of DNA that do not code for genes. "Most of the genome consists of junk DNA"


Definition of Junk DNA

1. Noun. (genetics) Any portion of the DNA sequence of a chromosome or a genome for which no function has been identified. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Junk DNA

1. That portion of DNA which is not transcribed and expressed, comprising about 90% of the 3 billion base pairs of the human genome; its function is not known. (05 Mar 2000)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Junk DNA

juniper berries
juniper berry
juniper berry oil
juniper bush
juniper tar
juniperic acid
juniperin
juniperite
juniperites
juniperlike
junipers
junitoite
junjo
junk-sick
junk DNA (current term)
junk bond
junk conference
junk e-mail
junk food
junk heap
junk mail
junk pile
junk science
junk sciences
junk shop
junk shot
junk sick
junkanoo
junkanoos

Literary usage of Junk DNA

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Crossing Over: The Basics of Evolution : Workbook for Teachers by Edith Dempster (2006)
"Less than 2% of your genome actually codes for proteins: the rest is called 'junk' DNA. Because each one of us is unique, we each have slight differences in ..."

2. Agricultural Biotechnology: Novel Products & New Partnerships by Jane B. Segelken (1998)
"Lest you think I am being extreme, let me remind you that not very long ago the term "junk DNA" was used to describe what could not be explained: because it ..."

3. Reaping the Benefits of Genomic and Proteomic Research: Intellectual by Stephen A. Merrill, Anne-Marie Mazza (2006)
"... argued that for the human genome—when much of the sequence was thought to be without function (so- called junk DNA)—a much more efficient strategy would ..."

4. The Genomic Revolution by National Academies Press (COR), National Academies (U.S.), Conference, Keck Futures Initiative (2006)
""Who can declare what is junk DNA?" asked Hunt Willard, director of the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy at Duke University, adding, "I'd be afraid ..."

5. The Information Universe: Issues in Informing Science and Information by Informing Science Institute, Eli Cohen, Ed. (2006)
"... yet the remaining "junk" DNA is proving to have an enormous amount of functionally important information, especially as the science of pharmacogenomics ..."

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