Junk DNA
1.
segments of DNA that have no apparent genetic function.
noun
1.
DNA that consists of repeated sequences of nucleotide and has no apparent function
junk DNA
(jŭngk)
DNA that serves no known biological purpose, such as coding for proteins or their regulation. Junk DNA makes up the vast majority of the DNA in the cells of most plants and animals, composing, for example, about 95 percent of the human genome.
Segments of DNA along a chromosome that are not genes, do not code for anything that we know of, and whose purpose we do not understand. Approximately ninety-five percent of the human genome falls into this category. The term junk may be misleading, however, as this DNA may have other functions, such as regulating genes during development.
Note: Some scientists speculate that junk DNA may be archaic material left over from an earlier stage of evolutionary development.
Read Also:
- Junk-call
noun 1. a telephone call soliciting a donation or selling a product or service by a caller making many such calls to a list of prospects.
- Junker
[juhng-ker] /ˈdʒʌŋ kər/ noun, Slang. 1. a car that is old, worn out, or in bad enough repair to be scrapped. [yoo ng-ker] /ˈyʊŋ kər/ noun 1. a member of a class of aristocratic landholders, especially in East Prussia, strongly devoted to militarism and authoritarianism, from among whom the German military forces recruited a large […]
- Junkerdom
[yoo ng-ker-duh m] /ˈyʊŋ kər dəm/ noun 1. the as a group. 2. (sometimes lowercase) the condition or character of a . 3. (sometimes lowercase) the spirit or policy of the ; Junkerism.
- Junkerism
[yoo ng-kuh-riz-uh m] /ˈyʊŋ kəˌrɪz əm/ noun, (sometimes lowercase) 1. the spirit or policy of the .
- Junkers
[yoo ng-kuh rs] /ˈyʊŋ kərs/ noun 1. Hugo [hoo-gaw] /ˈhu gɔ/ (Show IPA), 1859–1935, German aircraft designer and builder. [juhng-ker] /ˈdʒʌŋ kər/ noun, Slang. 1. a car that is old, worn out, or in bad enough repair to be scrapped. [yoo ng-ker] /ˈyʊŋ kər/ noun 1. a member of a class of aristocratic landholders, especially […]