Fedoroff N V
Biotechnology Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999 May 18;870:251-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08886.x.
This essay addresses the paradoxes of the complex and highly redundant genomes. The central theses developed are that: (1) the distinctive feature of complex genomes is the existence of epigenetic mechanisms that permit extremely high levels of both tandem and dispersed redundancy; (2) the special contribution of transposable elements is to modularize the genome; and (3) the labilizing forces of recombination and transposition are just barely contained, giving a dynamic genetic system of ever increasing complexity that verges on the chaotic.
本文探讨了复杂且高度冗余基因组的种种悖论。所提出的核心论点如下：（1）复杂基因组的独特特征在于存在表观遗传机制，这些机制允许串联和分散冗余达到极高水平；（2）转座元件的特殊贡献在于使基因组模块化；（3）重组和转座的不稳定力量仅勉强受到控制，从而形成一个动态遗传系统，其复杂性不断增加，几近混乱。
