intron
Sign in to saveAn intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word intron is derived from the term intragenic region, i.e., a region inside a gene. The term intron refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and the corresponding RNA sequence in RNA transcripts. The non-intron sequences that become joined by this RNA processing to form the mature RNA are called exons.
AI overview
An intron is a section of DNA within a gene that gets removed during the process of creating RNA, so it doesn't end up in the final RNA product that cells use. Scientists study introns because understanding how they're removed and how genes are processed helps explain how genetic information is actually used to make proteins and direct cellular functions.
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Article
13 sectionsContents
- Discovery and etymology
- Distribution
- Classification
- Spliceosomal introns
- tRNA introns
- Group I and group II introns
- On the accuracy of splicing
- Biological functions and evolution
- Starvation adaptation
- As mobile genetic elements
- See also
- References
- External links
An intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word intron is derived from the term intragenic region, i.e., a region inside a gene. The term intron refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and the corresponding RNA sequence in RNA transcripts. The non-intron sequences that become joined by this RNA processing to form the mature RNA are called exons.
Introns are found in the genes of most eukaryotes and many eukaryotic viruses, and they can be located in both protein-coding genes and genes that function as RNA (noncoding genes). There are four main types of introns: tRNA introns, group I introns, group II introns, and spliceosomal introns (see below). Introns are rare in Bacteria and Archaea (prokaryotes).