Exon

How it is used

Used in clinical genetics, primer design and sequencing. Exons are numbered from the start of the gene: 'exon 1', 'exon 11'. Exome sequencing reads all the exons, qPCR primers are often designed across exon–exon junctions, and 'exon skipping' is a common splicing term.

Example sentences

1. The variant is in exon 11, which codes for the binding domain.

2. Design the qPCR primers across an exon–exon junction so that they don't amplify genomic DNA.

Common collocations

• coding exon
• exon skipping
• exon deletion
• exon–exon junction

Related terms

• intronA section of a gene that is copied into RNA but cut out during splicing, so it does not appear in the mature mRNA.
• mRNAMessenger RNA: the RNA copy of a gene that carries its instructions from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes, where the protein is made.
• exomeAll the exons in a genome, that is, its protein-coding part. In humans it makes up only about 1–2% of the genome but contains most known disease-causing variants.
• geneA section of DNA that carries the instructions for making a protein or a functional RNA molecule; it is the basic unit of heredity passed from parents to children.

More terms: Gene Expression and Regulation

• gene expression
• transcription
• translation
• promoter
• codon
• transcription factor
• epigenetics
• upregulate