2007-01-15 16:49:31 · 5 answers · asked by dundundun 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Jeff gave a pretty good answer - the enzymes of the cytoplasm are not conducive to linear DNA!
That is why prokaryotic DNA (DNA of organism that have no nucleus) is generally circular - the most fragile end of a DNA molecule is it's end, and circles have no end....
Linear DNA has advantages over circular - faster replication is probably the most obvious.
Another advantage is that by sequestering DNA in the nucleus, it can be modified before the message (mRNA or "messenger RNA") is sent out to the ribosomes that actually make a protein from that message. This means that one "gene" can actually code for several different proteins due to what is known as "alternative splicing" of the mRNA message. A good example of this is variation in B-globin from fetal to adult - the one gene spliced differently is the source for the different kinds.
You can obviously code more information into the same space if some of your genes can double up and code for several proteins!
2007-01-15 18:18:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the reactions which are specific for the nucleus are confined there, rather than spreading to the rest of the cell where they would not be needed. This is more energy efficient. Many of the cell's functions are confined to specific organelles, such as lysosomes, mitochondria etc.
2007-01-15 17:08:37 · answer #2 · answered by Labsci 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how about another line of defense from viruses. if you have another selective membrane for a virus to get into it may and does interfere with their infiltration of our DNA. Another might be for more selective expression of certain genes. Another words if you have another concentration gradiant (the nucleus) which determines what will get transcribed and not allows for much more genetic code capacity and specification. You pick it their is a reason, chemical, environmental, whatever, you can probably think of an advantage from any of these view points.
2007-01-15 16:55:24 · answer #3 · answered by champiampi 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there's a lot of enzymes in the cytoplasm, so if the DNA was free-roaming in the cytoplasm, the enzymes may mess up the DNA
2007-01-15 16:57:43 · answer #4 · answered by Jeff 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it depends..
2016-08-23 15:18:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋