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Asked by: Yiwen Mercker
science geneticsWhat is the purpose of an intron?
Last Updated: 28th April, 2020
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Similarly, you may ask, what is the purpose of introns and exons?
intron / introns. In some genes, not all of the DNA sequence is used to make protein. Introns are noncoding sections of an RNA transcript, or the DNA encoding it, that are spliced out before the RNA molecule is translated into a protein. The sections of DNA (or RNA) that code for proteins are called exons.
Similarly, why are introns removed? Not only do the introns not carry information to build a protein, they actually have to be removed in order for the mRNA to encode a protein with the right sequence. If the spliceosome fails to remove an intron, an mRNA with extra "junk" in it will be made, and a wrong protein will get produced during translation.
Consequently, why do introns exist?
Eukaryotes might need this diversity in proteins because they have many types of cells all with the same set of genes. Therefore, introns are a way to generate different proteins or different amounts of proteins that are unique to a cell type. Introns might also allow for faster evolution.
What are two functions of introns?
Introns serve at least two functions. One, acting as spacers between coding gene regions, they facilitate alternative splicing of genes. The benefit here is protein diversity; it's how our cells can express 100K proteins from only 20K genes.