Alternative splicing as a source of phenotypic diversity

A major goal of evolutionary genetics is to understand the genetic processes that give rise to phenotypic diversity in multicellular organisms. Alternative splicing generates multiple transcripts from a single gene, enriching the diversity of proteins and phenotypic traits. It is well established th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature reviews. Genetics Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 697 - 710
Main Authors: Wright, Charlotte J, Smith, Christopher W. J, Jiggins, Chris D
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group 01.11.2022
Subjects:
Alternative splicing
Divergence
Evolution
Evolutionary genetics
Genes
Genetics
Genomes
Morphology
Proteins
Retention
ISSN:1471-0056, 1471-0064, 1471-0064
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A major goal of evolutionary genetics is to understand the genetic processes that give rise to phenotypic diversity in multicellular organisms. Alternative splicing generates multiple transcripts from a single gene, enriching the diversity of proteins and phenotypic traits. It is well established that alternative splicing contributes to key innovations over long evolutionary timescales, such as brain development in bilaterians. However, recent developments in long-read sequencing and the generation of high-quality genome assemblies for diverse organisms has facilitated comparisons of splicing profiles between closely related species, providing insights into how alternative splicing evolves over shorter timescales. Although most splicing variants are probably non-functional, alternative splicing is nonetheless emerging as a dynamic, evolutionarily labile process that can facilitate adaptation and contribute to species divergence.In this Perspective, the authors discuss how regulated alternative splicing can generate phenotypic diversity and outline emerging evidence that alternative splicing contributes to adaptation and species divergence.
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ISSN:1471-0056
1471-0064
1471-0064
DOI:10.1038/s41576-022-00514-4