alternativesplicing

Alternative splicing is a crucial post-transcriptional process in eukaryotes that allows a single gene to encode multiple protein isoforms. This occurs when different combinations of exons are included or excluded from the final messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript. Normally, after transcription of a gene into pre-mRNA, introns are removed and exons are ligated together to form mature mRNA. In alternative splicing, regulatory proteins bind to specific sequences within the pre-mRNA, influencing which splice sites are recognized and used by the spliceosome, the molecular machinery responsible for splicing. This can lead to the inclusion of certain exons that would otherwise be skipped, or the exclusion of exons that would typically be retained. The resulting mRNAs are then translated into proteins with distinct structures and functions, even though they originate from the same gene. This mechanism significantly expands the proteomic diversity of an organism without a proportional increase in gene number, playing vital roles in development, cellular differentiation, and response to environmental stimuli. Dysregulation of alternative splicing is implicated in various diseases, including cancer and neurological disorders.