Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 178101 (2005) [4 pages]Exons, Introns, and DNA Thermodynamics
See accompanying Physics Focus The genes of eukaryotes are characterized by protein coding fragments, the exons, interrupted by introns, i.e., stretches of DNA which do not carry useful information for protein synthesis. We have analyzed the melting behavior of randomly selected human cDNA sequences obtained from genomic DNA by removing all introns. A clear correspondence is observed between exons and melting domains. This finding may provide new insights into the physical mechanisms underlying the evolution of genes. © 2005 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.178101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.178101
PACS:
87.15.−v, 05.70.Fh, 87.14.Gg
|
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.