Junk DNA: goodbye!: so-called junk is rice important (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, June 19, 2020, 15:57 (1619 days ago) @ David Turell

A new study finding junk is not junk:

https://phys.org/news/2020-06-dark-dna-vital-rice-reproduction.html

"Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have shed light on the reproductive role of 'dark matter' DNA—non-coding DNA sequences that previously seemed to have no function.

"Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, have revealed that a specific non-coding genomic region is essential for the proper development of the male and female reproductive organs in rice.

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"The vast expanse of this 'junk DNA' has long puzzled biologists, with many dubbing it the 'dark matter' of the genome. But recent research suggests that many of these non-coding genomic regions may have a function after all, giving rise to non-coding RNA.

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"Dr. Komiya's group therefore proposes that the Argonaute proteins may interact with microRNA2118 to trigger production of the secondary small RNAs. The proteins may also interact with the secondary small RNAs to silence specific regions of the genome. The team hopes to elucidate exactly how the Argonaute proteins and secondary small RNAs affect development of the plant reproductive system in further research.

"'Reproduction is an important phenomenon of passing genetic information to the next generation and is essential for maintaining a stable yield supply. However, development of the reproductive system is complicated, and many aspects remain unknown," concluded Dr. Komiya. "This study shows that non-coding RNAs, derived from regions of the genome that were thought to be non-functional, are vital for plant reproduction. Exploring non-coding RNAs further is an exciting and important area of research."

Comment: continuing confirmation there is very little junk in DNA