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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
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Identification of Alternative Splicing and Polyadenylation in RNA-seq Data
Published on: June 24, 2021
Global analysis of alternative splicing differences between humans and chimpanzees
John A Calarco1, Yi Xing, Mario Cáceres
1Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, Terrence Donnelly Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada.
Genes & Development
|November 6, 2007
Summary
Alternative splicing significantly differs between humans and chimpanzees, impacting distinct gene sets and functions. These splicing variations play a key role in primate evolution and species-specific traits.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Alternative splicing generates proteomic diversity from a limited gene set.
- Its contribution to primate-specific evolution remains largely unassessed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct the first global analysis of alternative splicing differences between humans and chimpanzees.
- To investigate the role of alternative splicing in human and chimpanzee species divergence.
Main Methods:
- Comparative genomics
- Quantitative microarray profiling
- Analysis of orthologous exon splicing levels in human and chimpanzee tissues.
Main Results:
- 6%-8% of profiled orthologous exons show significant splicing level differences.
- Alternative splicing differences affect distinct gene subsets compared to transcript level differences.
- Detected splicing variations impact functions like gene expression, immunity, and disease susceptibility.
Conclusions:
- Alternative splicing plays a crucial role in establishing human and chimpanzee species-specific differences.
- Splicing regulation has evolved rapidly and independently from transcript level regulation.
- Functional consequences of alternative splicing differences include altered protein activity, as seen in Glutathione S-transferase omega-2 (GSTO2).
Related Concept Videos
02:18Alternative RNA Splicing
Alternative RNA splicing is the regulated splicing of exons and introns to produce different mature mRNAs from a single pre-mRNA. Unlike in constitutive splicing where a single gene produces a single type of mRNA, alternative splicing allows an organism to produce multiple proteins from a single gene and plays an important role in protein diversity.
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
02:18Alternative RNA Splicing
Alternative RNA splicing is the regulated splicing of exons and introns to produce different mature mRNAs from a single pre-mRNA. Unlike in constitutive splicing where a single gene produces a single type of mRNA, alternative splicing allows an organism to produce multiple proteins from a single gene and plays an important role in protein diversity.
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
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Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral chromosome underwent...
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