What do you mean by alternative splicing?
Alternative splicing is the process of selecting different combinations of splice sites within a messenger RNA precursor (pre-mRNA) to produce variably spliced mRNAs. These multiple mRNAs can encode proteins that vary in their sequence and activity, and yet arise from a single gene.
What is an example of alternative splicing?
Collectively such genes are considered to undergo complex alternative splicing. The best example is the Drosophila Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam) gene, which can generate 38,016 isoforms by the alternative splicing of 95 variable exons.
What controls alternative splicing?
Splicing is regulated by trans-acting proteins (repressors and activators) and corresponding cis-acting regulatory sites (silencers and enhancers) on the pre-mRNA.
What does alternative splicing produce?
Alternative splicing is a molecular mechanism that modifies pre-mRNA constructs prior to translation. This process can produce a diversity of mRNAs from a single gene by arranging coding sequences (exons) from recently spliced RNA transcripts into different combinations.
Who discovered alternative splicing?
Gilbert
First hypothesized by Gilbert (1978), this process, known as alternative splicing (AS), appears to be widespread in eukaryotes, seemingly reaching its apex in mammals (Barbosa-Morais et al. 2012), in which 95% of multiexon genes undergo AS (Pan et al.
What is the difference between splicing and alternative splicing?
The main difference between RNA splicing and alternative splicing is that the RNA splicing is the process of splicing the exons of the primary transcript of mRNA whereas the alternative splicing is the process of producing differential combinations of exons of the same gene.
What does alternative RNA splicing do?
Alternative splicing is the process that selectively removes introns or exons, or parts thereof, to generate multiple messenger RNAs (mRNAs) from a single precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) (2).
What is alternative splicing and how is it regulated?
Alternative splicing (AS) regulates gene expression patterns at the post-transcriptional level and generates a striking expansion of coding capacities of genomes and cellular protein diversity. RNA splicing could undergo modulation and close interaction with genetic and epigenetic machinery.