Splicing regulation and intron evolution in the short-intron ciliate model of endosymbiosis Paramecium bursaria.

ABSTRACT: The integration of symbionts into host cells during endosymbiosis significantly alters gene expression and cell physiology. Though alternative splicing facilitates cellular adaptation through rapid modulation of gene expression and protein isoform diversity, its regulatory role during endosymbiosis remains poorly understood. Paramecium bursaria, which harbors hundreds of Chlorella variabilis algae within its cytoplasm, offers a powerful model to study splicing during endosymbiosis, especially given its exceptionally short introns (median ∼24 nt). Using time-course RNA sequencing of symbiotic and aposymbiotic cells, we found that splicing, especially of 5' proximal introns, enhances gene expression. Moreover, we identified 883 genes with differentially spliced introns, particularly enriched

SUBMITTER: Nguyen TNG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12862383 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature