Comparative analysis indicates that alternative splicing in plants has a limited role in functional expansion of the proteome.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alternative splicing (AS) is a widespread phenomenon in higher eukaryotes but the extent to which it leads to functional protein isoforms and to proteome expansion at large is still a matter of debate. In contrast to animal species, for which AS has been studied extensively at the protein and functional level, protein-centered studies of AS in plant species are scarce. Here we investigate the functional impact of AS in dicot and monocot plant species using a comparative approach.

Results

Detailed comparison of AS events in alternative spliced orthologs from the dicot Arabidopsis thaliana and the monocot Oryza sativa (rice) revealed that the vast majority of AS events in both species do not result from functional conservation. Transcript isoforms that are putative

SUBMITTER: Severing EI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2674458 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature