‘Junk DNA’ has value for roundworms
Some germline genes in C. elegans get license to operate from genomic ‘watermarks’
![Junk DNA diagrams](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/071216_TS_DNA_feat_free.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
NO ALIENS ALLOWED Roundworms (C. elegans) have to fight off foreign DNA while protecting its own genes that will be passed to the next generation. Some bits of “junk DNA” — called PATCs — may help. PATCs help keep the worms’ own genes active while alien genes are turned off.
C. Frøkjær-Jensen et al/Cell 2016