May 13, 2013

Carnivorous plant throws out ‘junk’ DNA




The newly sequenced genome of the carnivorous bladderwort contradicts the notion that vast quantities of noncoding DNA are crucial for complex life

Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of a genetic material known as noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities.