Junk DNA goodbye!: In plant evolution (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, May 20, 2016, 00:05 (3110 days ago) @ David Turell

An article that tries to explain some of the functions of non-coding RNA (ncRNA):-http://phys.org/news/2016-05-dark-genome.html-"What used to be dismissed by many as "junk DNA" is back with a vengeance as growing data points to the importance of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)—genome's messages that do not code for proteins—in development and disease.-***-"Of the 3 billion letters in the human genome, only two per cent make up the protein-coding genes. The genes are copied, or transcribed, into messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, which provide templates for building proteins that do most of the work in the cell. Much of the remaining 98 per cent of the genome was initially considered by some as lacking in functional importance. However, large swaths of the non coding genome—between half and three quarters of it—are also copied into RNA- *** -"It is emerging that many ncRNAs have important roles in gene regulation. This view is supported in that some ncRNAs act as carriages for shuttling the mRNAs around the cell, or provide a scaffold for other proteins and RNAs to attach to and do their jobs.-***-"ncRNAs come in multiple flavours: there's rRNA, tRNA, snRNA, snoRNA, piRNA, miRNA, and lncRNA, to name a few, where prefixes reflect the RNA's place in the cell or some aspect of its function. But the truth is that no one really knows the extent to which these ncRNAs control what goes on in the cell, nor how they do this. The new technology developed by Blencowe's group has been able to pick up new interactions involving all classes of RNAs and has already revealed some unexpected findings.-"The team discovered new roles for small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that normally guide chemical modifications of other ncRNAs. It turns out that some snoRNAs can also regulate stability of a set of protein-coding mRNAs. In this way, snoRNAs can also directly influence which proteins are made, as well as their abundance, adding a new level of control in cell biology. And this is only the tip of the iceberg as the researchers plan to further develop and apply their technology to investigate the ncRNAs in different settings."-Comment: One of the initial basic tenets of hard-Darwinists is evolution discarded lots of junk into DNA, because only 2% codes form proteins, and the junk proves evolution was a random process leaving junk behind. Instead, the obvious issue in retrospect was ignored: it is fine that we know the origin of proteins, but what was left out was the question of how is everything managed. Now in the so-called junk the management processes are being elucidated. Lots of planned complexity is my view. The 80% active DNA may be correct.