ALREX-elements and introns: two identity elements that promote mRNA nuclear export

The mechanisms that dictate whether a particular mRNA is exported from the nucleus are still poorly defined. However, it has become increasingly clear that these mechanisms act to promote the expression of protein-coding mRNAs over the high levels of spurious transcription that is endemic to most eukaryotic genomes. For example, mRNA processing events that are associated with protein-coding transcripts, such as splicing, act as mRNA identity elements that promote nuclear export of these transcripts. Six years ago, we made the serendipitous discovery that regions within the open reading frame of an mRNA that encode short secretory or mitochondrial-targeting peptides can also act as an mRNA identity element which promotes an alternative mRNA nuclear export (ALREX) pathway. These regions are enriched in protein coding genes and have particular features that can be used to identify this class of protein-coding mRNA. In this article we review our current knowledge of how mRNA export evolved in response to particular events that occurred at the base of the eukaryotic tree. We will then focus on our current understanding of ALREX and compare its features to splicing-dependent export, the main mRNA export pathway in metazoans.