Editing Repeated sequence (DNA) (section)

== History ==
In the 1950s, [[Barbara McClintock]] first observed DNA transposition and illustrated the functions of the [[centromere]] and [[telomere]] at the Cold Spring Harbor Symposium.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = McClintock B | title = Chromosome organization and genic expression | journal = Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology | volume = 16 | pages = 13–47 | date = 1951-01-01 | pmid = 14942727 | doi = 10.1101/sqb.1951.016.01.004 }}</ref> McClintock's work set the stage for the discovery of repeated sequences because transposition, centromere structure, and telomere structure are all possible through repetitive elements, yet this was not fully understood at the time. The term "repeated sequence" was first used by [[Roy John Britten]] and D. E. Kohne in 1968; they found out that more than half of the eukaryotic genomes were repetitive DNA through their experiments on reassociation of DNA.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Britten RJ, Kohne DE | title = Repeated sequences in DNA. Hundreds of thousands of copies of DNA sequences have been incorporated into the genomes of higher organisms | journal = Science | volume = 161 | issue = 3841 | pages = 529–540 | date = August 1968 | pmid = 4874239 | doi = 10.1126/science.161.3841.529 }}</ref> Although the repetitive DNA sequences were conserved and ubiquitous, their biological role was yet unknown. In the 1990s, more research was conducted to elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of [[minisatellite]] and [[microsatellite]] repeats because of their importance in DNA-based forensics and [[molecular ecology]]. DNA-dispersed repeats were increasingly recognized as a potential source of genetic [[Genetic variation|variation]] and [[Genetic regulation|regulation]]. Discoveries of deleterious repetitive DNA-related diseases stimulated further interest in this area of study.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Shapiro JA, von Sternberg R | title = Why repetitive DNA is essential to genome function | journal = Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society | volume = 80 | issue = 2 | pages = 227–250 | date = May 2005 | pmid = 15921050 | doi = 10.1017/s1464793104006657 | s2cid = 18866824 }}</ref> In the 2000s, the data from full eukaryotic genome sequencing enabled the identification of different promoters, enhancers, and regulatory RNAs which are all coded by repetitive regions. Today, the structural and regulatory roles of repetitive DNA sequences remain an active area of research.