RNA editing and alternative splicing of the insect nAChR subunit alpha6 transcript: evolutionary conservation, divergence and regulation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

RNA editing and alternative splicing play an important role in expanding protein diversity and this is well illustrated in studies of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs).

Results

Here, we compare the RNA editing and alternative splicing of the nAChR alpha6 subunit genes from different insects spanning ~300 million years of evolution- Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Bombyx mori, Tribolium castaneum and Apis mellifera. The conserved and species-specific A-to-I RNA editing occurred across all species except A. gambiae, which displayed extraordinarily short flanking intronic sequences. Interestingly, some A-to-I editing sites were a genomically encoded G in other species. A combination of the experimental data and computational analysis of orthologo

SUBMITTER: Jin Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1919356 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature