What is a gene and where is it present?
Answers
Answered by
0
A gene is currently defined as a contiguous sequence of nucleic acid (DNA, unless we are talking about RNA viruses) that encodes some sort of functional product. The easiest to understand product is a protein: the DNA gets copied into RNA that is spliced or not, and directs the production of a protein (basically a polypeptide) that has some type of function, enzymatic, structural, regulatory, etc.
The discovery of regulatory RNA, such as long coding RNAs (lncRNA) or enhancer RNAs (eRNA) and other types of RNAs with functions other than determine the sequence of a polypeptide, has caused the broadening of the definition of the word "gene". But in a larger sense it is still a unit of heredity so the definition has not changed all that substantially.
To be quite honest, scientists rarely get hung up on precise definitions. We're happy with working definitions (the nature if science is to constantly revise our understanding with new findings), and when we write scientific articles, we usually clearly state what we are talkng about by describing, and there is no problem understanding what we are talking about. The public sometimes perceives some "massive" change or shift, due to the hyperbolic language often used in science journalism, blogs, TV news, etc.
The discovery of regulatory RNA, such as long coding RNAs (lncRNA) or enhancer RNAs (eRNA) and other types of RNAs with functions other than determine the sequence of a polypeptide, has caused the broadening of the definition of the word "gene". But in a larger sense it is still a unit of heredity so the definition has not changed all that substantially.
To be quite honest, scientists rarely get hung up on precise definitions. We're happy with working definitions (the nature if science is to constantly revise our understanding with new findings), and when we write scientific articles, we usually clearly state what we are talkng about by describing, and there is no problem understanding what we are talking about. The public sometimes perceives some "massive" change or shift, due to the hyperbolic language often used in science journalism, blogs, TV news, etc.
Anonymous:
copied copied
Answered by
0
Genes are chemicall messengers located on the aurface of DNA which pass on from one generation to another
Similar questions