Human genes often occupy a larger part of the chromosome compared to the homologous gene in yeast, yet the number of amino acids in more homologous human and yeast proteins are not very different. What structure explains this difference?
Large amounts of noncoding DNA are found within human genes compared to yeast. Such genes have a split structure in which segments of coding sequence (called exons) are separated by noncoding sequences (intervening sequences, or introns). The entire gene is transcribed to yield a long RNA molecule and the introns are then removed by splicing, so only exons are included in the mRNA. Although most introns have no known function, they account for a substantial fraction of DNA in the genomes of higher eukaryotes. Introns are not found in most genes of simple eukaryotes, such as yeasts.
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