  Eukaryote genomes contain excessively introns, inter-genic and other
non-genic sequences that appear to have no vital functional role or phenotype
manifestation. Their existence, a long-standing puzzle, is viewed from the
principle of increasing entropy. According to thermodynamics of open systems,
genomes evolve toward diversity by various mechanisms that increase, decrease
and distribute genomic material in response to thermodynamic driving forces.
Evolution results in an excessive genome, a high-entropy ecosystem of its own,
where copious non-coding segments associate with low-level functions and
conserved sequences code coordinated activities. The rate of entropy increase,
equivalent to the rate of free energy decrease, is identified with the
universal fitness criterion of natural selection that governs populations of
genomic entities as well as other species.
