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Satellite Dna





TYPES OF SATELLITE DNA


Satellite DNA, together with Minisatellite and Microsatellite DNA constitute the Tandem Repeats .

Some types of satellite DNA are:

UIOIP


LENGTH

A repeated Pattern can be between 1 base pair long (a Mononucleotide Repeat ) to several thousand base pairs long, and the total size of a satellite DNA block can be several megabases without interruption. Most satellite DNA is localized to the telomeric or the centromeric region of the chromosome. The nucleotide sequence of the repeats is fairly well conserved across a species. However, variation in the length of the repeat is common. For example, Minisatellite DNA is a short region (1-5kb) of 20-50 repeats. The difference in length of the minisatellites is the basis for DNA Fingerprinting .


ORIGIN

Satellite DNA, at least the microsatellite variety, is thought to have originated by slippage of a replicated chromosome against its template.
It's very long.


PATHOLOGY

Microsatellites are often found in transcription units. Often the base pair repetition will disrupt proper protein synthesis, leading to diseases such as Myotonic Dystrophy .


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