Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: neilep on 02/08/2009 16:28:44

Title: How Can An Amoeba Have More DNA Than Me ?
Post by: neilep on 02/08/2009 16:28:44

Dearest DNAologists,

As a sheepy I of course luff DNA. DNA is my all time favourite building block stuff that makes up ewe and me. I luff it...ewe luff it..we all luff it.


Also, being a sheepy I am of course extremely klevur because I have lots of DNA. Look here am I  registering to take my driving test !

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Me Prior To Passing My Driving Test

Nice eh ? I do have a matching bra but it was hot so I decided to go topless.




 With all this DNA ewe'd imagine we must be very complex eh ?



The thing about DNA is that I thought that, as a sheepy I simply must have quite a lot of it..but I just found out that this humble amoeba...... [ Invalid Attachment ]  .......
has about 100 times more genetic material than ewe and me !!!!!!!

eh ?...what's that all bout ?

How can a single cell organism have 100 times more DNA than me ?

Before I right my letter of complaint to the executive officer in charge of dishing out DNA I thought I'd give ewe luffley peeps a chance to explain it to me !


Hugs & shmishes


mwah mwah mwah !!!



neil
I DNA
I Dont kNow Nuffink
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Title: Re: How Can An Amoeba Have More DNA Than Me ?
Post by: RD on 02/08/2009 17:40:29

Genomes include junk DNA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA). The older the species the more time it's genome has had to accumulate junk. Amoeba have been around longer than mammals.

Title: How Can An Amoeba Have More DNA Than Me ?
Post by: Variola on 02/08/2009 19:15:55

Ahhhh the C value paradox/enigma  [:)]

Non-coding DNA or 'junk DNA' is only the parts of the genome that we don't as yet know the function of, it doesn't mean it's not used.

Couple of reasonable links

http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/09/genome-size-complexity-and-c-value.html (http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/09/genome-size-complexity-and-c-value.html)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-value_enigma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-value_enigma)

I think the safest answer is that we don't actually know why, not with any definitive proof.

If you really get the taste for it I can look up some published papers for you, but they are hard-going!  [;D]

Title: How Can An Amoeba Have More DNA Than Me ?
Post by: RD on 02/08/2009 19:48:44

Junk is not necessarily garbage ...

 [ Invalid Attachment ]

http://scienceblogs.com/transcript/2007/02/junk_dna_origin_of_the_term_1.php

Title: How Can An Amoeba Have More DNA Than Me ?
Post by: neilep on 03/08/2009 09:25:02

Quote from: RD on 02/08/2009 17:40:29

Genomes include junk DNA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA). The older the species the more time it's genome has had to accumulate junk. Amoeba have been around longer than mammals.

Thanks RD...so an amoeba has more junk DNA than me eh ?...hmm..well..if i eated an amoeba I'd then have more DNA than it !.. [;)]

Title: How Can An Amoeba Have More DNA Than Me ?
Post by: neilep on 03/08/2009 09:27:47

Quote from: Variola on 02/08/2009 19:15:55

Ahhhh the C value paradox/enigma  [:)]

Non-coding DNA or 'junk DNA' is only the parts of the genome that we don't as yet know the function of, it doesn't mean it's not used.

Couple of reasonable links

http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/09/genome-size-complexity-and-c-value.html (http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/09/genome-size-complexity-and-c-value.html)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-value_enigma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-value_enigma)

I think the safest answer is that we don't actually know why, not with any definitive proof.

If you really get the taste for it I can look up some published papers for you, but they are hard-going!  [;D]

Thank ewe very much Variola  wooo !...kewl links !.....

erhmm...methinks I'll take a rain cheque on your kind offer to provide some ' hard-going' papers. It was hard enuff for me to ask the kwestion !! [;D] [;D]