repetitive DNA

Cultural  

1. Stretches of DNA that repeat themselves throughout a genome, either in tandem or interspersed along the genome. These stretches can comprise up to fifty percent or more of an organism's DNA. It can code for an end product, perhaps a certain enzyme that is needed in large numbers; it can have a structural function (such as a telomere); or it can comprise sequences with no known function.

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Example Sentences

Knowing ferns often have notably long stretches of repetitive DNA, the team turned to the fork fern for analysis.

From Science Magazine • May 31, 2024

The markers in question are telomeres, which are sections of repetitive DNA found at each end of a chromosome that serve to protect the ends of the chromosomes from damage.

From Science Daily • Oct. 18, 2023

By listening to a long string of genetic code, “you can easily distinguish repetitive DNA sequences from more complex DNA sequences,” Temple said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2023

The C-Fern appears to have gained its large genome primarily from repetitive DNA and transposable elements — “jumping genes” that often move around in chromosomes, with a function that is poorly understood.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2022

The newly added sequence, amounting to nearly 10 percent of the human genome, includes some genes and large amounts of repetitive DNA, the trickiest genomic regions to sequence.

From Scientific American • Mar. 31, 2022