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Intergenic Regions

updated: October 31, 2024

Definition

Intergenic regions are the stretches of DNA located between genes. In humans, intergenic regions are non-protein-coding and comprise a large majority of the genome. Some intergenic DNA is known to regulate the expression of nearby genes.



Narration

Intergenic Regions. Intergenic regions are the DNA regions between the coding genes. They comprise a very large portion of our DNA. They're important because they can actually be involved in regulating how a specific gene functions.

Ellen Sidransky
Ellen Sidransky, M.D.

Chief and Senior Investigator

Medical Genetics Branch