Dna Shape Could Be Clue To Function

摘要

The twists and bumps on stretches of non-coding DNA could give clues to what they are there for. The DNA that codes for proteins makes up only 2 per cent of the human genome. Other functions, such as switching on genes, are embedded somewhere in the remaining 98 per cent. One way to home in on the functional areas is to scan for sequences that humans share with other mammals, suggesting they have been conserved for a reason. But Thomas Tullius of Boston University and his colleagues wondered whether different sequences might show up if they looked instead at the DNA's outward shape. DNA's complex chemistry means two similar sequences can produce very different outer shapes, while two different sequences can have similar shapes.