Non-Coding DNA & Regulatory Genes (OCR A Level Biology): Revision Note

Non-Coding DNA & Regulatory Genes

• It can be highly difficult to translate the genome of complex organisms into their proteome

• Determining the proteome of humans is difficult as large amounts of non-coding DNA are present in human genomes

  • It can be very hard to identify these sections of DNA from the coding DNA

• The presence of regulatory genes and the process of alternative splicing in human genomes also affects gene expression and the synthesis of proteins

• The proteome is larger than the genome due to:

  • Alternative splicing

  • Post-translational modification of proteins (often takes place in the Golgi apparatus)

Alternative splicing allows for a single gene to produce multiple proteins

The proteome is larger than the genome