The key difference between UTR and intron is that UTR is a non-coding nucleotide sequence which is included in the mature mRNA sequence while intron is a sequence that is not included in the mature mRNA molecule.
UTR or untranslated region is a non-coding sequence which is found in the mRNA molecule. In each side of the mRNA sequence, we can see one UTR. Therefore, there are two UTRs as 5’UTR and 3’UTR. In contrast, an intron is a non-coding sequence which is found in between exons of the gene. Introns are spliced off when making mRNA. Hence, introns are not seen in the mRNA sequence. However, both UTR and intron are important elements of eukaryotic genomes.
