Distinguishing between "function" and "effect" in genome biology.
Genome Biol Evol. 2014 May 9;
Authors: Doolittle WF, Brunet TD, Linquist S, Gregory TR
Abstract
There is renewed debate among biologists about the meaning of "function". Much of this has to do with the claim of ENCODE investigators to have at last disproven the 40-year-old notion that our genome is mostly informationally nonfunctional "junk" (ENCODE et al 2012; Graur et al 2013; Niu and Jiang 2013; Eddy 2012, 2013; Doolittle 2013). To the extent that the controversy reflects disagreement about the meaning and proper use of words, a resolution is possible. We need only decide that while all genomic structures have effects, only some of them should be said to have functions. Although it will very often be difficult or impossible to establish function (strictly defined), function should not automatically be assumed. We enjoin genomicists in particular to pay greater attention to parsing biological effects.
PMID: 24814287 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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