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Journal ArticleDOI

Gene Regulation for Higher Cells: A Theory

Roy J. Britten, +1 more
- 25 Jul 1969 - 
- Vol. 165, Iss: 3891, pp 349-357
TLDR
Direct support for the idea that regulation of gene activity underlies cell differentiation comes from evidence that much of the genome in higher cell types is inactive and that different ribonucleic acids are synthesized in different cell types.
Abstract
Cell differentiation is based almost certainly on the regulation of gene activity, so that for each state of differentiation a certain set of genes is active in transcription and other genes are inactive. The establishment of this concept (1) has depended on evidence indicating that the cells of an organism generally contain identical genomes (2). Direct support for the idea that regulation of gene activity underlies cell differentiation comes from evidence that much of the genome in higher cell types is inactive (3) and that different ribonucleic acids (RNA) are synthesized in different cell types (4).

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Citations
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Evolution by gene duplication

Susumu Ohno
Journal ArticleDOI

Genome Regulation by Long Noncoding RNAs

TL;DR: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as discussed by the authors form extensive networks of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes with numerous chromatin regulators and then target these enzymatic activities to appropriate locations in the genome.
Journal ArticleDOI

RNA Maps Reveal New RNA Classes and a Possible Function for Pervasive Transcription

TL;DR: Three potentially functional classes of RNAs have been identified, two of which are syntenically conserved and correlate with the expression state of protein-coding genes and support a highly interleaved organization of the human transcriptome.
Journal ArticleDOI

Selfish DNA: the ultimate parasite

TL;DR: The DNA of higher organisms usually falls into two classes, one specific and the other comparatively nonspecific, and it seems plausible that most of the latter originated by the spreading of sequences which had little or no effect on the phenotype.
Journal ArticleDOI

DNA modification mechanisms and gene activity during development.

TL;DR: This article suggests mechanisms that may account for the differentiated state of dividing or nondividing cells and that also attempt to explain the ordered switching on or off of genes during development.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Genetic regulatory mechanisms in the synthesis of proteins.

TL;DR: The synthesis of enzymes in bacteria follows a double genetic control, which appears to operate directly at the level of the synthesis by the gene of a shortlived intermediate, or messenger, which becomes associated with the ribosomes where protein synthesis takes place.
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Repeated Sequences in DNA

TL;DR: Hundreds of thousands of copies of DNA sequences have been incorporated into the genomes of higher organisms and used in medicine, science, and engineering.
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Organ-specific restriction of transcription in mammalian chromatin

TL;DR: It is concluded that histones can mask DNA in chromatin and prevent it from acting as a template, but this effect is nonspecific.
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The desoxyribonucleic acid content of animal cells and its evolutionary significance.

TL;DR: The values of DNA per cell in lung fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds suggest that in the evolution of these vertebrates there has been a decline in DNA content per cell.
Journal ArticleDOI

Small molecular weight monodisperse nuclear RNA.

TL;DR: The nuceloplasm and nucleolus of HeLa cells contain six distinct low molecular weight species of RNA that are long-lived and do not appear to be precursor to any cytoplasmic product.