Junk DNA' is not Junk

Dear Colleagues,

Since the late Susumu Ohno first introduced the phrase “junk DNA” in 1972 (“So Much Junk DNA in Our Genome”, Brookhaven Symposium on Biology 23:366-370) the concept has captured the imagination of scientists and non-scientists alike leading to much research as well as debate.  Ohno’s original hypothesis regarding the origin and evolutionary significance of “junk DNA” has been modified and refined over the last four decades benefitting from recent comparative and functional genomics analyses and as influenced by the large-scale bioinformatics analysis of sequences. Many have argued we must abandon Ohno’s terminology, but yet it persists, largely because it remains an interesting conceptual framework to explore given the relative enormity of sequence content in the non-protein-coding category and the finding that gene numbers appear surprisingly similar among vertebrates while non-coding sequences range from being widely variable to unexpected conservation.

This Special Issue seeks to cover a broad range of topics on the types, functions, conservation, evolution and ultimately the biological significance of “junk DNA” broadly defined as “non-protein-coding sequence” found within and among genomes.  We encourage contributions covering the diversity of species. We welcome scientific perspectives, reviews and original research papers on the topic of “junk DNA” and its biological significance.

Prof. Dr. Mary E. Delany
Guest Editor