Non-Linear Information in the Genome
Jonas Rubikas
Genome is a composition of organism’s genetic information. Our former and current understanding involves a primary linear image: gene - expression - product that initiates information replication. At a first contains genetic information in a linear order, however, a closer inspection provides a view of a meteor battered planet. This originates from variable size nucleotide sequences that invade the genome. Even in an early embryonic stage the splicing genes are transcribed and development, in it’s turn, controls the splicing genes activity. The first iRNAs are spliced and regulate the organism’s development. The alternative splicing of proteins that takes place in a cell and other regulation mechanisms are closely rel ated. Besides the evolutionary significance, splicing might create wrong codons and the produced isoforms of a protein have different structures and might cause a disease. Furthermore, alternative splicing explains the existence of introns: one transcript that is alternatively spliced in various tissues produces different proteins without the change of DNA - organism safes its information matrix and regulates gene expression by mRNA modification after transcription. Moreover, gene expression regulation is highly dependant on microRNA and snRNA molecules. Genomic DNA provides information stability and replication. DNA molecule is often damaged by the environment factors; however reparation systems are able to repair it. The present repair system in this pro t cess shows evolution provided possibilities to obtain information expression and its products variety without changing the main information source. Thus, only when information and its expression structures organized into a united reproducing system, a genome origination became possible.
Keywords: genome, non-linear information, genome reparation, small RNAs.