In the following schematic graph of a hypothetical set of RNA-seq data, the number of reads is plotted for a region of chromosome containing two genes, from samples obtained from two different tissues. Which gene (X or Y) do you think is more likely a "housekeeping" gene? Which region (1 or 2) within gene Y most likely corresponds to an exon?
A) Gene X; region 1
B) Gene X; region 2
C) Both genes; region 1
D) Gene Y; region 1
E) Gene Y; region 2

Question

In the following schematic graph of a hypothetical set of RNA-seq data, the number of reads is plotted for a region of chromosome containing two genes, from samples obtained from two different tissues. Which gene (X or Y) do you think is more likely a "housekeeping" gene? Which region (1 or 2) within gene Y most likely corresponds to an exon? 
A) Gene X; region 1 
B) Gene X; region 2 
C) Both genes; region 1 
D) Gene Y; region 1 
E) Gene Y; region 2

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A housekeeping gene is expected to be expressed in nearly all cells, including brain and liver cells. This is the case for gene Y, for which the mRNA levels are significant in both cell types, according to the RNA-seq data. The regions with higher numbers of reads in the RNA-seq results correspond to exons.

In the Following Schematic Graph of a Hypothetical Set of RNA-Seq