Fig. 1

Gene anatomy. Intergenic regions: areas between genes. Transcription start site: starting point for the RNA transcription (from DNA template). Translation start site: starting point for protein translation (from mRNA template). Exons: retained in mRNA, basis for protein translation. Promoter region: regulatory region important for initiation of transcription. 5′UTR and 3′UTR: non-coding start and endpoint of mRNA. Splice site: sequence that guides splicing of exonic RNA. Introns: sequence removed during splicing. Artwork: Elísabet Einarsdóttir