Posted: May 18, 2014 5:52 pm
GenesForLife wrote:AFAIK, the main category of "junk DNA" refers to sequences that make up the chromatin "packaging" that wraps round the actual genes most of the time.
Nope -
[1] DNA alone never makes up chromatin packaging.
[2] Chromatin consists of histones in combination with DNA.
...
Ha! A classic case of interpretation issues. The fact that the chromatin includes DNA is sufficient to make my arguent valid.
[3] Heterochromatin (which is highly compacted and wraps around silent DNA) does not wrap around genes.
Fair enough, but it doesn't invalidate my argument that much "junk DNA" has a function - one of suppressing accidental gene expression.