Selfish DNA

Abstract

In two review articles in the 17 April issue Doolittle and Sapienza (p. 601) and Orgel and Crick (p. 604) separately suggested that much of the DNA in the genome of higher organisms could be described as 'selfish'. They argued that such DNA has no appreciable phenotypic effect and functions only to ensure its own self-preservation within the genome. This view point stimulated a great deal of comment, some of which was published in the issue of 26 June (p. 617). Now the original authors have joined up with one of their critics and reassessed their ideas in the two articles below. A further comment is added by H. K. Jain. © 1980 Nature Publishing Group.