Noncoding DNA

In genetics, noncoding DNA describes DNA which does not contain instructions for making proteins (or other cell products such as RNAs). In eukaryotes, a large percentage of many organism's genomes are noncoding. Some noncoding DNA is involved in regulating the activity of coding regions. However, much of this DNA has no known function and is sometimes referred to as "junk DNA".

See also: Intron, genetic code