Code domains in tandem repetitive DNA sequence structures.

Abstract

Traditionally, many people doing research in molecular biology attribute coding properties to a given DNA sequence if this sequence contains an open reading frame for translation into a sequence of amino acids. This protein coding capability of DNA was detected about 30 years ago. The underlying genetic code is highly conserved and present in every biological species studied so far. Today, it is obvious that DNA has a much larger coding potential for other important tasks. Apart from coding for specific RNA molecules such as rRNA, snRNA and tRNA molecules, specific structural and sequence patterns of the DNA chain itself express distinct codes for the regulation and expression of its genetic activity. A chromatin code has been defined for phasing of the histone-octamer protein complex in the nucleosome. A translation frame code has been shown to exist that determines correct triplet counting at the ribosome during protein synthesis. A loop code seems to organize the single stranded interaction of the nascent RNA chain with proteins during the splicing process, and a splicing code phases successive 5' and 3' splicing sites. Most of these DNA codes are not exclusively based on the primary DNA sequence itself, but also seem to include specific features of the corresponding higher order structures. Based on the view that these various DNA codes are genetically instructive for specific molecular interactions or processes, important in the nucleus during interphase and during cell division, the coding capability of tandem repetitive DNA sequences has recently been reconsidered.