基因概念的演绎-生物通.PDF

HEREDITAS (Beijing) 2010 5 , 32(5): 448―454 ISSN 0253-9772 综述 DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2010.00448 基因概念的演绎 谢兆辉 , 253023 “基因”术语的诞生已经有 100 年之久了。在这过去的 100 年里, 基因定义经过了许多次修正。基因由最 初一个抽象的名词, 最后定义为基因组中一段具体的、可以编码蛋白质或RNA 的DNA 序列, 并成为了生物学 最重要的词汇之一。但随着基因组计划完成, 尤其是“DNA 元件百科全书”计划的完成, 基因组组成的复杂性和 多样性, 以及其动力学特点对传统分子生物学的基因定义提出了挑战, 因为越来越多的证据表明: DNA 水平储 存的信息和功能产品之间的关系是非常复杂的, 甚至有人认为应该重新定义基因。文章对基因定义的发展, 近 来对基因定义的争论及其研究进展做一论述。 基因; 基因定义; 争论 The development of gene concepts XIE Zhao-Hui Department of Biology, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China Abstract: One hundred years has passed since the term of “gene” was coined in 1909, the gene defination has been re- vised many times in the past 100 years. Gene has changed from an abstract symbol to a specific segment, which can pro- duce protein or functional RNA, and finally became one of the most important biological words. With the accomplishment of the genome project, particularly the project of Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE), our knowledge about the the complexity and diversity of genomic organization and dynamics of genomes posed important challenges to the classical molecular gene concept. As is becoming more evident that the relations between information stored at DNA level and func- tional products are very intricate, some people consider that it was time to make a redefinition of gene. In this review, we briefly outline gene defination of this history and the development of gene concept these days. Keywords: gene; gene defination; debate 77 , , , RNA DNA [3] , , , “DNA , ”(Encyclopedia of DNA Elements, ENCO