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Exon Recombination

Exon Recombination

The evolution of new genes is critical for speciation. Exon recombination, also known as exon shuffling or domain shuffling, is an important means of new gene formation. It is observed across vertebrates, invertebrates, and in some plants such as potatoes and sunflowers. During exon recombination, exons from the same or different genes recombine and produce new exon-intron combinations, which might evolve into new genes.
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...

RNA Splicing

RNA Splicing

Splicing is the process by which eukaryotic RNA is edited before its translation into protein. The RNA strand transcribed from eukaryotic DNA is called the primary transcript. The primary transcripts that become mRNAs are called precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Eukaryotic pre-mRNA contains alternating sequences of exons and introns. Exons are nucleotide sequences that code for proteins, whereas introns are the non-coding regions. In RNA splicing, introns are removed and exons are bonded...

RNA Splicing

RNA Splicing

Splicing is the process by which eukaryotic RNA is edited before its translation into protein. The RNA strand transcribed from eukaryotic DNA is called the primary transcript. The primary transcripts that become mRNAs are called precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Eukaryotic pre-mRNA contains alternating sequences of exons and introns. Exons are nucleotide sequences that code for proteins, whereas introns are the non-coding regions. In RNA splicing, introns are removed and exons are bonded...

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In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).

Point and Frameshift Mutations

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Point mutations are genetic alterations involving the change of a single nucleotide base pair in DNA. Depending on how the alteration affects protein synthesis, they can lead to various consequences.Point mutations fall into the following types:Silent mutations occur when a nucleotide change does not alter the amino acid sequence due to the redundancy of the genetic code. For instance, changing ACC to ACA still encodes threonine, leaving the protein function unaffected. This occurs because...

Pre-mRNA Processing: RNA Splicing

Pre-mRNA Processing: RNA Splicing

Splicing is the process by which eukaryotic RNA is edited before its translation into protein. The RNA strand transcribed from eukaryotic DNA is called the primary transcript. The primary transcripts that become mRNAs are called precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Eukaryotic pre-mRNA contains alternating sequences of exons and introns. Exons are nucleotide sequences that code for proteins, whereas introns are the non-coding regions. In RNA splicing, introns are removed and exons are bonded...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Modeling the evolution dynamics of exon-intron structure with a general random fragmentation process.

Liya Wang¹, Lincoln D Stein

¹Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA. wangli@cshl.edu

BMC Evolutionary Biology

|March 2, 2013

Summary

The general random fragmentation process (GRFP) model reveals that longer exons are more likely to gain introns, which insert near the exon center. This model also indicates significant intron loss in non-vertebrate evolution.

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Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

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Structure-Based Simulation and Sampling of Transcription Factor Protein Movements along DNA from Atomic-Scale Stepping to Coarse-Grained Diffusion

Structure-Based Simulation and Sampling of Transcription Factor Protein Movements along DNA from Atomic-Scale Stepping to Coarse-Grained Diffusion

Published on: March 1, 2022

Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Genomics
Molecular biology

Background:

Eukaryotic genes contain spliceosomal introns, yet their evolutionary origins remain unclear.
Genome sequencing advances have not fully elucidated exon-intron structure evolution.
This study investigates exon-intron structure evolution via stochastic processes and historical outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a novel model for exon-intron structure evolution.
To characterize the dynamics of exon-intron structure evolution.
To predict intron insertion probabilities and distributions.

Main Methods:

Developed a general random fragmentation process (GRFP) model.
Combined simulation and modeling of exon size distributions across species.
Analyzed intron insertion patterns and their correlation.

Main Results:

Intron gain probability is proportional to exon size cubed.
Intron insertion sites are normally distributed around the exon center (mean 0.5, SD 0.11).
Intron insertions are independent in vertebrates but negatively correlated in non-vertebrates, suggesting intron loss.

Conclusions:

The GRFP model indicates dynamic intron gain favoring longer exons and random insertion near the center.
GRFP estimates 78 introns per 10 kb coding sequence in vertebrates, aligning with observations.
Significant intron loss is estimated in non-vertebrates (e.g., 57% in Drosophila melanogaster).