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Mechanistic insights into mutually exclusive splicing in dynamin 1
1Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. mikita@bioreg.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)
|June 25, 2013
Summary
Mutually exclusive splicing, a complex gene regulation process, appears to occur in mammals, specifically in dynamin 1. This suggests an independent evolution of this RNA splicing mechanism in the mammalian lineage.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Mutually exclusive splicing is a tightly controlled alternative splicing pattern.
- Specific mutually exclusive splicing events are regulated by RNA secondary structures, previously thought to be exclusive to arthropods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and evolutionary origin of RNA structure-based mutually exclusive splicing regulation in mammals.
- To analyze human gene structures for evidence of this regulatory mechanism.
Main Methods:
- Detailed sequence analysis of human gene structures.
- Phylogenetic analysis of dynamin 1 orthologs across different species.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests that dynamin 1 in mammals utilizes a similar RNA structure-based regulation for mutually exclusive splicing.
- Phylogenetic analysis indicates that invertebrate dynamin 1 orthologs lack conserved sequence features associated with this mechanism.
- The regulatory mechanism appears to have evolved independently in the mammalian lineage.
Conclusions:
- The mechanism for mutually exclusive splicing observed in dynamin 1 in mammals may have evolved independently.
- This independent evolution, termed mechanistic convergence, highlights the diverse evolutionary paths for complex gene regulation.
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