Interrupted gene

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An interrupted gene is simply a strand of DNA that contains both introns and exons. Most higher-level eukaryotes have interrupted genes and have longer introns than exons, creating a gene that is longer than its coding region. Some eukaryotes, including yeast, have many uninterrupted regions, as they contain long stretches of exons that create necessary mRNA, leading to the development of proteins. This does not mean, however, they are fully uninterrupted, as tRNA synthesis requires excision of a nucleotide sequence, followed by ligation.