Patterns of intron sequence evolution in Drosophila are dependent upon length and GC content

摘要

BackgroundIntrons comprise a large fraction of eukaryotic genomes, yet little is known about their functional significance. Regulatory elements have been mapped to some introns, though these are believed to account for only a small fraction of genome wide intronic DNA. No consistent patterns have emerged from studies that have investigated general levels of evolutionary constraint in introns.