One gene, many tissues

Genes are the “code” for building the biological elements that form an organism. The DNA that makes up genes contains the instructions to synthesize proteins, but it’s wrong to think that, for a given gene, these instructions are always the same for all parts of the organisms. In actual fact, the gene varies depending on the tissue where it is located (cerebral cortex, cerebellum, olfactory epithelium, etc.); in particular, what varies is the point in the “string” of code at which protein synthesis starts.

Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - March 27, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news