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From: werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Multiple Reading Frames
Message-ID: <1027@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Apr-87 00:33:16 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.1027
Posted: Thu Apr 16 00:33:16 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Apr-87 10:16:14 EST
References: <2909@ecsvax.UUCP>
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 30

In article <2909@ecsvax.UUCP>, emigh@ecsvax.UUCP (Ted Emigh) writes:
> A recent Nature (Vol 326, 5 March 1987, pp 42-47) has the following article:
> 
> "A family of unusually spliced biologically active transcripts encoded
> by a Drosophila clock gene," by Yoav Citri, et. al. (Brandeis Univ).
> 
> Abstract:
> "Complementary DNA cloning of the transcripts of the Drosophila clock gene
> period reveals three distinct transcripts.  These result from unusual splicing
> pathways, one involving a CG 3' splice site and one resulting in the use of
> two different reading frames in one exon, and they predict three separate
> proteins.  Two of the cloned cDNAs can restore clock function to mutant
> arrhythmic flies."

	Again, just like Polyoma, the above is cheating, since the other
exons are in identical reading frames. Besides, only two reading frames 
are used even in the parts where they diverge.  
	Alternate splicing should not be confused with transcripts in
all three reading frames.


	Let's just drop the subject.  It is clear that the only real
answer to the question of "How much information does the human genome
encode (in its 3 * 10^9 bp)?" is LOTS and LOTS.  Perhaps we should
dub the quantity One Sagan.
-- 
			      Craig Werner (MD/PhD '91)
				!philabs!aecom!werner
              (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517)
                                 "But I digress..."